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Studies in Sindi society the anthropology of selected Sindi communities

Siddiqi, A. H. A.

How to cite: Siddiqi, A. H. A. (1968) Studies in Sindi society the anthropology of selected Sindi communities, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/10150/

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Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk Studies in Sindi Society.

The Anthropology of Selected Sindi Communities.

Summary.

The purpose of this thesis is to accept the fact that there is a territory called Sind which has possessed and still possesses a regional identity and then to exalniine the nature of society within it. The emphasis throughout is on social and cultural charac• teristics related as far as possible to the various forces affecting them and operating within them, a field of study lying between Social Geography eind Social Anthropology.

Within Sind there exist diversities of religion, of occupation and economy but. overriding these there has been until recently an undisputed social and cultural unity manifesting itself in language^ folk customs, mysticism and a elass/caste division of society. This unity has been associated with a subsistence orientated agricultural economy in which family gind kinship have aided survival in a harsh arid environment.

Sind has been a region peripheral to the main• stream of Asian change and regional and social unity remained undisturbed for centuries.

Two phenomena have recently disturbed this traditional continuity, first the effects of partition of All-India and secondly urbanization in the developing state of Pakistan. The question remains whether traditional rural - based unity will remain dominant or whether a new hybrid culture will appear. STUDIES IN SINDI SOCIETY

THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF SELECTED

SINDI COMIIUNITIES

THESIS PRESENTED FOR THE DEGREE OF M.A.

BY

A.n.A. SIDDIQI

UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM

ENGLAND.

MAY, 1968. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. LIST OF PLATES

Plate 1. Village girls ^'picking cotton pods. Facing P. 28

Plate 2. In the country side of Nawab Shah

after ploughing levelling is being

done to produce a tilth. Pacing P. 32

Plate 3. Sindi Buffaloes. Facing P. 33

Plate 4. Sugar cane juice is being extracted

by animal power. Facing P. 35

Plate 5. A Sindi potter. Pacing P. 68

Plate 6. Pottery from Hala. Facing P. 68

Plate 7. A performance of Mystic songs at

the fair of Bhit Shah. In the.

background the building is the

tomb of Bhit Shah. Facing P. 101

Plate 8. A Sindi bride in the middle of

kindred and friends. Facing P. 1^*6

Plate 9. A typical Sindi female dress,

fihunni (head cover) traditional

embroidered shirt and the striped

Salwar narrow at the ankle. Facing P. I67

Plate 10. A typical Sindi male dress, Pagri

(turban) A^rak on the shoulders

along \*ith Sindi shirt and Sal war. Bacing P. I67

Plate 11. Ajrak sometimes is wrapped around

the upper part of the body. Facing P. I67

II Plate 12. AJrak is also used ad head gear. Facing P. l67

Plate 13. Sindi type wrestling (MalakhaixJ Facing P. 175

Plate 1^. 'Narr' a typical Sindi musical

instrument. Facing P. 175

Plate 15. Various Sindi musical instruments

e.g. Ek-Tara, Murli, Chapri. Facing P. 175

Plate 16. A scene from a town. The bullock

carts are carrying the commodities

to the markets. Facing P. 179

Plate 17. A modern mode of transport. Facing P. 180

Plate 18. Horses in the rural areas are

still the main type of con•

veyance. Facing P. 182

III T,IST OF APPENDIX

Appendix 1 Page I5

Appendix 2 Page Z^O

Appendix 3 Page Zn

Appendix k Page 6I

Appendix 5 Page 62

Appendix 6 Page 6k

Appendix 7 Page 7^

Appendix 8 Page " 93

Appendix 9 Page 9^

Appendix 10 Page 127

Appendix 11 Page 128

Appendix 12 Page Ikj

Appendix 13 Page I78

IV LIST OF CONTENTS

Page Introduction 1

Section I Chapter I The Land of Sind 6

Chapter II Sind in History 17

Section II Chapter III Economic Organisation - Agriculture 27

Chapter Xt Economic Organisation - other sections 65

Chapter V Settlements 77

Section III Chapter VI Social Organisation 96

Chapter VI A The Sindi Community 97

Chapter VI B Religion 99

Chapter VI C Language 106

Chapter VI D The Family 112

Chapter VI E Kinship 130

Chapter VII Social Organisation and Customs 1^5

Chapter VII A Marriage lk6

Chapter Vll B Birth 155

Chapter VII C Death 159.

Chapter VII D Disease I6k

Chapter VII E Dress 167

Chapter VII F Food o 171

Chapter VII G Recreation 175 Chapter VII H Communications 179

Conclusion. 187 Bibliography 191 LIST OF MAPS.

Map 1 West Pakistan; Political Divisions, Facing P. 1

Map 2 Sind Physical Regions, Facing P. 7

nap 3 West Pakistan, Annual Raiftfall, Facing P. 9

Map 4 Sind, Vegetation Zonesj Facing P. 12

Map 5 West Pakistan, Raw Mjaterials, Facing P. 12

Map 6 West Pakistan, Minerals, Facing P. 12

Map 7 Sind, Administrative Districts, Facing P. 22.

Map 8 Sind, Density of Population, Facing P. 78

Map 9 Sind, Urban Centres, Facing P. 79

Map 10 Sind, Agriculture and Industries, Facing P, 85

Map 11. West Pakistan Railways. Facing P, 179

VI In this thesis an attempt is made to analyse the elements of this situation mainly through the present• ation of systematic studies of social and economic life and then to show hovi these elements are balanced in the whole. ihe elements and forces involved are of great variety. within the community one must consider the broad groupings of social organisation as they occur in this particular region (which above all is physically characterised by aridity). There are also the facts of caste, a system which does not only permeate the uindu sector, and the effects, through time, of historical pov;^er struggles not only between dynasties but between peoples and cultures.

In Section I are examined the basic physical characteristics of the region which, with little variation have characterised Sind for some four millennia. The characteristics of physical environment are clear and powerful in their influencing both of traditional and modern ways of life. Resources and locational char• acteristics have not only directly controlled many aspects of rural culture but also have affected many other elements such as contacts with neighbouring regions, routeways, urbanization etc.

Sub-regional differences such as those between the central riverine tracts, the eastern sand deserts and the barren hill badlands are examined. i'rom this examination of physical environment one may then proceed to look at the most significant elements in the history of Sind including a brief survey of the ethnic and cultural and political changes. In Section II the economic organisation of Sind life with particular emphasis on occupational characteristics is studied. Much of the continuit3' of Sindi life in the past derived from the overwhelming predominence of rural economies which although functionally varied and with sub-regional differences all had one unifying trait of cultural conservatism.

With the acceleration of urbanization and the broadening of occupational opportunity have come changing social as well as economic values.

Economic diversification, so far as this has proceeded, has weakened the traditional cultural unity and it is to an examination of traditional and transiotional social organisation to which vre then turn.

Section III is devoted to an examination of the most important elements of social organisation viz., the family, kinship, religion, recreation, food, disease, settlement, communications etc. Tradition• ally the family occupied a central place in the organisation of the community. Now as migration to towns proceed apace, the family is weakened, the decentralised nature of village life is increasingly replaced by central authority based on the large towns and the whole matrix of the society is apparently endangered. The question arises as to whether these new forces which seem to encourage urban uniformity will destroy the long surviving traditional unity in diversity of Sind.

Religion itself is indissolubly linked with other elements in the life of Sind. There are fundamental differences between Hindus and Muslims. The former believe in the existence of many deities, the latter in one Uod only. Hindus believe in the transmigration of soul and Muslims do not. Neverthe• less in spite of there being these and other fundamental doctrinal differences in Sind there is much common ground between the devotees of both faiths. There is general mysticism, the importance of priesthood, beliefs in some mystical properties etc., many common elements derived from the near and remote past|^make the doctrinal differences between Hindus and Muslims less important to village life than factionalism which reflects many cross currents of kinship, caste, religion and other elements.

In conclusion, the thesis attempts to draw together the various elements which have been analysed. The most significant fact would appear to be that from many ethnic strains and cultural and religious legacies traditional Sind developed.

ii'or all the diversity of all the elements in its composition the Sindi community has survived in distinct and recognizable form in its particular homeland.

Now as the environment itself is effectively changed by new attitudes and these new social and economic values appear, Sind and the Sindis them• selves may be losing their old identity. The question remains; will a new identity emerge or will the Sindi community linger on only in isolated and remote villages as a kind of cultural museum piece? This thesis is based on documentary material

and on personal investigation carried out by the

writer between I962 and 1964. During this period

the writer visited all the main settlements in Sind

and carried out interviews in over 100 villages.

Personal and family experience has also been dra.\m

upon. In the rural areas records were made of

verbal infomation given to the writer concerning

the social structure and customs observed and prac•

tised. From these records have been drawn the

statements which follow. The sources have not been

quoted in detail because this would merely mean

listing names of individuals and groups but whenever

relevant the place of observation is noted.

Acknowle dge ment

I am extremely grateful to my supervisor, Professor

H. Bowen-Jones for his sincere and kind help during the preparation of this thesis and also to Dr. £. Sunderland,

Senior Leciburer in the Anthropology Department for his assistance on various occasions. I also acknowledge the help of the technical staff of the Geography Dep• artment . SECTION I

The Land of Sind and its History across the "grain"! of •'^the Country] difficult and expensive. Flood inundation has been historically normal particularly in the eastern part of Thatta. Only in recent years has any degree of control of the flow of the Indus been achieved as a result of the installation of multi-purpose irrigation, hydro-electric and flood-control works^notably in the Punjab.

At Sukkur the average annual water discharge of the million Indus is over 5^million cubic feet and the transported sediment has been estimated at over 10,000 million cubic feet. Since late tertiary times this great silt load hasbeen deposited in a gone now lying between the East Nara and the main Indus channel in the modern districts of Hyderabad, Nawabshah and western Sanghar. As a result of the many changes in river alignement this central low land is in fact broken up into low doabs and intervening relict channels.

To the west of the present main Indias the Kirthar mountains descend through the tertiary Kohistanv. hills to the edge of the plain and here the topographical limit is clear and well defined. The cultural water• shed however lies further to the west in the rugged negative area between the Indus and Baluchistan. The main limestone ranges of Kirthar averaging over 5,000 feet in height have proved major obstacles to almost all traffic and in this lightly populated zone the lower hills are naturally orientated towards the Indus valley.

To the east the great Thar desert stretching 500 miles north-westward from the barren saline mudflats of the Rann of Cutch through sand dunes and bare

8 Jacobabad has recorded a temperature maximum of 126° F, almost a world record. In this season the potential evaporation and transpiration are at an annual rate of over 300 inches per annum. At night rapid radiation through clear air can produce a daily temperature range of about 40°F although this is only at its most extreme in open country. In the towns the temperature raliely, falls below 100°F. Between November and February the humidity and cloudiness decreases after the monsoon period and with clear air and rapid radiation in January night minimum temperature falls beloxir freezing in northern Sind, the ameliorating effects of the sea decreasing inland from the coast. Considerable variations are observable in different parts of the region the higher land of Kohistan having the more severe conditions.

All in all the climate of Sind very severely affects human activity and one has some sympathy with the Hindu myth that it is the fault of the Demon King of Multan who pulled down Megha Raja, the cloud god, from Heaven and would not release him unless he promised not to visit Sind. More scienfifically we can note that using de Matitonne' s Aridity Indices, . the whole of Sind falls in Zone IV - Arid.

Soil and vegetation naturally reflect in their distribution the climate, morphology and hydrology of Sind (Map 4). The soil types basically reflect the material from which they are derived although their overriding characteristic, that of alkalinity and richness in soluble salts, is a result of aridity.

10 In central and eastern Sind.most parental- material would seem to have been recent alluvial in type. "Wariasi" is the local term for the weak sandy sierozems grading into.pure sand that are characteristic of Tharparkar. Largely water-laid even if worked oyer by wind, generally calcareous and free draining this soil type is regarded by local inhabitants as suitable for most types of cultivation given the availability of water and fertilizer. The other no.table type of :soil is "Chikki". It is the name giyen to rather better developed sierozem soils in Larkana.

"Kacho" includes most of the relatively high water-table silts of the central flood plain part• icularly in Hyderabad and northes-mdelta. The complexity of deposition has resulted in great variation in salinity, watertable and degree of weathering.

"Kalar" is the name given to solonetz and sol- onchak soils formed generally on high water table silts. Salts are found to excess in such areas making it uncultivable. The condition under which these.soils are formed may be due both to natural and man caused forces. Flood inundation and water• logging because of bad irrigation practices when associated with regular vertical movements of the water-table can rapidly result in deterioration. In Khairpur district the Kalar soils are mainly the result of poor irrigation.

In the hill tracts of west of the Indus soils are mainly skeletal. The variations in the soil affect also the nature of the vegetation.

11 MAP 4 SIND - VEGETATION ZONES

MILES

F FOREST TV IRRIGATED STEPPE I BARREN HILLS Y SCRUB a DESERT n STEPPE yl MANGROVE E CULTIVATED M MARSH 8- « •• CM ir • o in o- «-1 ^ o 3 - 5. • o 0) O •- Q. « — P 3 CO • i i- U) o > o w o o u Q- Z o

I O Q op

<

< Suol • Z a! M On the bank of Indus and E. Nara, Babul, Tamarisk, Kandi tali and Thorn forest are noticeable. In the delta proper mangroves and brackish water plants predominate while thorn and acacia shrubs and cactus are the main elements in between the Eastern Nara and the Eastern boundary (Thar). In much of Kohistan there is bare badland hill country with a few patches of Xerophytic grasses (Map h).

Resources other than that of the land for agriculture are fairly limited (Maps 5 & 6). In Thatta district at Jhirapur some deposits of coal a, are found. Hyderabad and Dadu have also^few deposits. Natural gas has been discovered at Rorhi, Khairpur and Mari. In the district of Tha:rparkar there are

resources of salt. The Dfiain salt area is at Dilyar and its output is estimated two lakh maund a year (see Map S)> Silica, Gypsum and Fullers earth are available in good quantity in Dadu district and the of. deposits/'limestone and Fullers earth are also found in Ganjo Takkar. From the Dhand (Pond) of the Lar a kind of impure sesquicarbonate .of soda has been extracted.

None of these resources have in themselves been important enough to modify the absolute dominance of agriculture. Building materials and salts of various kinds have generally been worked on a small scale for local need,for many years.

F^r more important in all respects has been the routev/ay character of the lower Indus valley. At . least since the Indus civilization of the second millennium B.C. the lower Indus valley has canalised contact between the western part of the Indo-Gangetic plain and the lands south, east and west across the

12. sea. Karachi a century ago was merely one of a number of the sea ports many which nov/ lie abandoned in the delta. These small ports v/ere the multif• arious termini of the land routes south from Hyderabad, Khairpur and Punjab itself.

In 1758 ii;nglish traders established a factory at Thatta but not until after 18^3 when Sind was formally annexed to the JJritish Empire and its link v/ith Afghanistan severed v;as there any centralised commercial development.

The introduction of steam navigation (for all its hazards) on the Indus eind the development of cotton led to the growth of Karachi. By I878 the independent Sind railway was extended to connect v/ith the i'unjab system and aarachi boomed in size, in function and in wealth. At the time of independence ii.arachi v;as the obvious choice for the capital of now state of Pakistan. It is relevant to this thesis to note that this sig• nified the relative decline of the inland cities associated with traditional Sind and the grov/th in importance of the new rootless market-orientated true urban centre.

Sind then is a region relatively clearly delimited by topography. Its physical characteristics very clearly limit ind control human life. With the waters of the Indus man can farm and build settleinents, else- v;here he must be nomadic and pastoral and as such mobile and agressive. Within the physical sub-regions there is sufficient small scale variety of soils and watertable ^s to lead to small scale rural separatism but there are no large scale breaks in the over: all

13 environmental unity. The only significant historical change in the spatial relationships between Sind and neighbouring regions is the growth of Karachi simultaneously as the metropolis and the greatest intermediary between Sindi life and that of the rest of the world.

Ik CHAPTER I

Appendix 1. Climate

Sanghar.

Maximum mean Minimum Mean Average

Summer 120 88 lOk Winter 62 30 46 Spring 80 7Q 75

Average rainfall during the year 11.32".

Hyderabad. Summer 107.0° 78.2° 92.6° Winter 88.8° 50.6° 69.7° Spring 101.8° 63.8° 82.8° Average rainfall is about 7"*

Larkana. Summer 110° 104° 107° Winter 70° 60° 65° Spring 90° 80° 85° The average rainfall is generally k to 5". Nawabshah. Sumftier 120° 70° 95° Winter 79° 36° 57° Spring 105° 40° 72° Average rainfall 5 to 7".

15 Appendix 1 (Cont.)

Jacobabad. Maximum mean Minimum mean Average

.0 ,0 Summer 107.9 81.7* 9^.8° ¥inter 81.2* 52.U° 66.8° Spring 9^.6* 65.6° 80.1°

Average rainfall 1 to 3"«

Dadu. Summer 112* 85' Winter 92" 50' Average rainfall is k"

Sukkur. Summer 73° Winter 85° 37° Spring 109° 61°

The rainfall average 2 to 3"•

Khairpur. Summer 120* Winter 30*

Average rainfall is less than 6" in a year. Source - Population district Census I96I reports.

16 CHAPTER II

Sind in History

The earliest cultures of Sind of which we know are those of the Bronze Age. Around Lake Manchar and extending throughout the present day district of Dadu is foixnd the Amri culture. Ji'ere, earlier than 3,000 B.C., developed sedentary settlement in miadbrick villages. The typical size of these, judging from the "tell" remnants would seem to have been about two acres,and each probably carried populations of a few hundreds. Only in few cases as at Kothras Buthi are the sign of fortifications. "There is a generalised resemblance to the village or small urban communities knovia throughout the ancient East in the prehistoric periods", is the comment of Stuart Piggot. Tool and pottery types suggest a close contact between the Amri culture and the Baluchi cultures to the north• west.

The most significant points to emerge from archaelogical excavation are as follows. In the first place the considerable alterations of course by the Indus are illustrated. Lake Manchar itself is normally about 8 miles wide and 10 miles in length but throughout the period of human occupation of the region it has periodically expanded as the result of inundation to two or three times its normal area. Here as elsewhere in Sind the lowest flood plains are too dangerous for permanent settlement which has to be located on higher levees and mounds. Secondly the Kohistan hills themselves, to judge from the relative density of settlement and the representation of the flora and fauna in decoration, were considerably

17 more covered by vegetation at earlier times. Their present barrenness may in part be a result of a series of slight but critical decreases in rainfall but probably has been caused in the main by human action. There is no evidence of burnt brick making but other fuel needs and the effects of goat and sheep grazing were considerable.

More important in Sind is the Harappa - Mohenjo- Daro civilization. Mohenjo-Daro, the southern capital lies not far to the north of Amri. i

During the heyday of the Indus civiiization extending from 3,000 B.C. to 1700 B.C., there would seem to have been an avoidance of the central low• lands between the Indus and the Eastern Nara. Stuart Piggot and O.H.K. Spate both believe^in the words of the latter,that there is "evidence of a distinctly more humid climate than now prevails". Local fauna included rhinoceros, elephant and water- buffalo and the widespread use of kiln-burnt brick on an enormous scale could only have been possible if ample supplies of wood fuel were locally available,

This linked city and village civilization was connected by commerce and culture with S\ameria and western peninsular India by sea as well as with the northern kingdom of Harappa in the Punjab. V/e know little of the non material side of this civilization. Agriculture and urban manufacture were extensive but there is evidence in the declining architectural standards of the towns as also in the physiceil evidence of increasing flood damage that ecological

18 deterioration was becoming significant even before the destruction of the civilization by the Aryan speaking invaders from the north.

Of these incomers \Te know little other than that derived from the older books of the Rig Veda. The general picture centres around the figure of Indra, the Aryan war god, the fort-destroyer. The new dominant society would seem to have been relatively sim^^ple. A strong pastoral element was present at least in the early confused periods with social organisation both autarchic and class specialised. The family and the village were the basic group units, religion combining a tendency to monotheism together with a personification of a single god in many deities.

Slowly^during what is known as the Vedic period, ending in the 6th century B.C., the main features of Brahmanical society emerged. Clan structure was weakened and, in all probability aided by ethnic conflict, the caste system emerged and the trade groups befan to crystalize into caste. This pre- Greek and pre-Islamic period is important in that it left many cultural traits which survived later changes. In Sind tribal names particularly associated with the region appear early, the Sivas, Parsus, Kakayas, Virchirants, iadus. Annus, Turvasas etc. Slowly however hereditary monarchies begin to appear along TSrith the consultation councils of "Sabah" and "Samatis" in which particular heads of families had considerable standing. The first fully organised authority how• ever appears as the result of conquest. Darius the

19 Great extending the Achemenion Empire in the 5th century B.C., organised Sind and Punjab into a single satrapy (Atfhich Aitkin estimates paid an annual tribute of the value of £1 million), Sind would seem to have been little affected by the Iranian conquest but this was only the first of many political and cultural incursions into the Indus basin from the north west. Then, as later, Sind, less wealthy than the Punjab and more remote from the main Indo-Gangetic lowlands, was but loosely controlled, and rapidly lapsed into independence and separatism.

This is the most significant fact of the whole following period up till the Muslim conquest in 711 A.D.

During the Greek period of the kth century B.C., following Alexander's Conquest, Patala, an early name for Thatta, and Sindimana, the Macedonian name for Sehwan were centres for Indo-Greek administration but apart from some aesthetic legacies Sind seems to have remained little changed. The same is^during the successive conquests by the Parthians, Scythians and Huns,the last in I65 ^-^^

To all these conquerers from the north and the north-west Sind x^as peripheral and the least attractive of their conquests. As such, local and regional separatism keeps re-appearing in a series of confusing dynastic struggle*. O.H.K. Spate's study of the relative permanence of frontiers in the Indian sub• continent shows how all through history Sind continually emerges not so much as a nuclear but a peripheral distinct region.

20 For the early centuries of the Christian era Sind remained under Rajput rule for an unusually lengthy period of stability. Between Multan.and the sea arid from.the Thar desert into Baluchistan the whole region was. ruled from Alor.

However, in the 7th century A.D., the Islamic expansion into Asia spread into southern Afghanistan and Baluchistan and Arab expeditions assailed the whole coast from Sind to Bombay. At the beginning of the 8th century 4l-Hajjaji, the governor of Iraq launched a major invasion of Sand under Muhammad-Bin-Qasimj • the Rajput armies were defeated near Alor in 712 A.D.^ and a new era commenced for the Indus valley. A new province of the Caliphate was created in a Bind which extended from Eashmeer'to the sea, from Rajputana to Baluchistan. This province became virtually independent as the power of the caliphate waned jand within a century and a half Sind and the Punjab had once more effect• ively separatied. After the Ghaznavid occupation local dynasties emerged and remained dominant until the mid-sixteenth century. Under the Turco-Afghan dynasties^^ and under the Moghuls after the death of Aurangzeb^there followed the same sequence of events - a loosening of control and regrowth of petty SindSi. states. In this last period of independence the Talpur dynasty built up a state around Hyderabad city, a relatively new creation dating from 1768. This, the last indigenous Sind state, fell to British armies under Napier and the region became a province of British India attached to Bo.mbay presidency.

Since independence there have been a similar series of vicissitudes. At first Sind was made a province of West Pakistan, and later divided into an orgeinisation

21 MAP 7 SIND - ADMINISTRATIVE DISTRICTS

^•'^ JACOBABAD

^ LARKANA -N- SUKKUR

KHAIRPUR -•^) SHAH

DAOU ''S SAN6HAR

/•''KARACHII'"'' /HYDERABAD"

THARPARKAR

THATTA

0 25 50 MILES L. finds many reference to the importance of "varna", colour or complexion. In Hindu mythology one finally finds the divine origin of the differences which have been made, the Brahmins,springing from the mouth of the deity, the Kshatriya who came from his arms, the Vaishya from his thighs and the Shudras who came from his feet. As conquered and conquerors, high status and low status occupations, dark and light, became fixed by inter-caste tabus on marriage so caste became a strict and rigid social system.

Aifhile Islam does not recognise caste as such, Muslims have recognised occupational and other diff• erences inherent in the system. In Sind therefore caste has become an institution which to some degree affects all traditional communities.

In kinship, as in the case of cross-cousin marriages, in religion and mysticism, in social and economic organisation, as is examined in later chapters, Sind has blended Dravidian, Brahmin and Islamic cult• ural legacies in a remarkable way. This regional growth was fostered by the way in which the physical environment, as earlier noted, has restricted and limited human economic opportu.iities of diversification.

In this chapter, in conclusion one must stress the parts played by forces of political geography.

There are throughout history the forces of separ• atism. These forces during the period of strong rulers became passive and active; during the periods of weak rulers. As we see the feeble rule of Iranians gave birth to very many petty states in Sind. Even

23 the forces of separatism could not be sujipressed sometimes by strong rulers. Harsh was a great conqueror, the boundaries of his empire were quite large but he could not subjugate Sind permanently. For nearly 1,500 years^^j^lndus plain almost enjoyed full independence from the death of Asoka 232 ^.C. up till the 13th century A.D.^ which was the period of the rise of Delhi Sultanate. Mohammad Bin Qasim in 712 conquered Sind, but the situation considerably changed after him. For nearly three centuries Sind remained semi-independent under Arab Caliphs. In 1053 Sumra a Rajput tribe occupied Sind and nominated a representative as an independent ruler. In 1333 Sammas came into power. The connection of Sind with the rest of India was nominal and when Akbar came on the throne it was separate from the centre. In 1591 he united it v/ith Delhi. After the death of Aurangzeb Sind again became separate from the centre. In the period of Mirs it had also short term independence.

In the battle of Miani and Deba Mirs surrendered it to British forces and it was recognised as non- regulation province.

Throughout history, therefore in the first place there remained unsubmerged by empires the grass root values of the rural population and their culture of accumulation.

Secondly, Sind remained peripheral to the main streams of development in the sub-continent. In the harsh and limiting environment Sind borrowed from conquerors and from neighbouring provinces those cultural elements which suited the practical needs of life away from the main political and cultural

2k power. Empiricism and flexibility on a provincial, non metropolitan basis was the keynote rather than fanaticism. Centres such as Multan served as the exchange points for the slow diffusion of those ideas and concepts which best suited Sind.

Thirdly, one must remember the decisive part played by Islam traditionally tolerant but with great missionary activity. Islamic religion and o culture have played the dominant part in every thing from education to the position of women. Sind is and always has been distinct but more than anything it is Muslim. ,

25 SECTION II

26 CHAPTER III

Agriculture

Preliminary Note.

In Chapters III and IV those aspects of economic organisation which are most directly relevant to this study in Social Geography iare alone considered.

The method adopted has been to consider economic organisation from the standpoint -view of occupations and the ways in which occupations are associated with*^€^ocial groupings.

27 Plate 1

J where social relationships are more important than functional efficiency in profit making. (See Biblio• graphy) .

By the land reform of 1959 situations have been changed. Under this reform the heavy concentration of land in the hands of few landlo.rds is being ended. The government has fixed the ceiling of ownership at 500 acres of irrigated and 1,000 unirrigated land. The excess Units beyond this limit have been taken over by the government and are given to the landless tenants and some are being reserved in forests.

Prior to this reform landlard absenteeism was very potent. Some 80/fa by area of the land was cult• ivated by tenants who were tenant at will. A few landlords had a political monopoly. The system di* giving big holdings to the cultivators on the newly irrigated parts of land during the period of British supremacy was not applied in Bind and large grants were given mainly to the aristocratic old rich families. "While 48.6^ of the cultivated area belonged to owners forming but 3^ of the total - a few of v/hom owned more than 10,000 acres each - the holding of more than 150,000 occupants were only 15 acres or smaller in size" (Tayyeb). It is estimated that the area of the acre* land which was resumed, in Sind was 831,77^. This is more than half of the total land resumed under West Pakistan land reform.

In spite of this new legislation the landlord still wields the extensive power although various rights have been given to the tenant farmer - the "hard.". The relations between the tenants and the landlords are very critical,

29 The landlord not only controls the kind of animals but also gives loans to the tenants to meet the expenditure. The hari at times of marriage, • death, pregnancy and other social emergencies in the family is also assisted in the form of loans. The time for payment is harvest time and after pay• ment the typical peasant may receive nothing since everything is covered with debts and so once more the cycle of advance loan begins. The tenancy agreement is "batai" a share cropping system on a 50:50 basis with the landowner supplying the land with the bullocks, plough and seeds being supplied by the hari who also sometimes pays the wages of the labourers. There are numerous variations in arrangements. As the writer has .observed in some parts of Hyderabad where landlord supplies the bullock, plough team and pays labourers then the hari gets TJ- and owner one half, the remaining -J- going to the labourers. The landowner may be the actual owner or contractor (temporary owner). The latter type of owner is called "Muqatiadar". These hire the land from the actual owner for a particular period under an agreement called "Muqatia". The agreements^as in most of the cases which have been observed^ continues up till one year. These intermediaries will engage hari for cultivation on the basis of "batai" (share cropping) and become "defacto" landlords v/ith tempor• ary leases rather than titles of their land.

The second and the third category includes, first, owner occupiers v/ho cultivate the land which they own /• and secondly such types who not only farm their own land but also are tenants of other landowners. Such farmers usually cultivate on a fairly small scale. In general, farming in these cases is subsistence orientated.

.30 The main feature is that even more than with the first category of farm holding there is practically no costing of input of labour etc. In some cases there is a demand for hired labour this being paid for in cash and kind. These rates derived mainly from maintenance need rather than commercial profitability. As in the old Russian Mir the v;hole family will have a joint interest in Ijointly owned property so that the interest of one is the interest of all. The pat- riarchal head of the family will take final decisions but all members will work without individual compen• sation for the ijoint family treasury. The practice of reciprocal help in cultivation also extends beyond family relationships in some villages. As in other regions of the world sucli as Iran and Turkey the family organisation is an essential jiart of this type of agriculture.

The last category of landless labourers really describes those people who are without employment and land of their own and who frequently live in very poor shanty town conditions on the fringes of the towns and in villages and who exist at a low level by taking temporary casual employment in menial jobs. The relationship between this depressed class and farmers is temporary and only exists when there is.a special and urgent need for extra labourers. As a .^grpjip they are neither urban nor rural, but merely deprived.

Since all cultivation is based on irrigation then the nature of the water supply is of key importance. In the Dadu district most irrigation water is obtained from hill torrents and "nallas" and supply of water is therefore dependent upon the feeding of hill streams by

31 ilate 2 irregular rainfall. Under such conditions the topo• graphy and hydrology strictly controls the location and the use of cultivated land.

In Sukkur on the other hand perennial canal irrigation serves large areas of continuous contiguous farms and water control through central authority becomes important.

At its inception the itubewell supply was usually designed to supply independent areas of farms and here the main change has come from the more extensive central provision of tubewells although in Sind the physical conditions have not required that this should be deve• loped on the same scale as in Punjab. Lastly in the desert region the presumed large resources of under• ground water have not yet been extensively tapped. The few deep wells therefore only supply small oases and are particularly important for livestock watering.

Clearly the crop range and demands made on the cultivations will vary from region to region depending on the type of irrigation and use. Everyi-zhere one finds the same traditional implements ('hal') plough, kodar (spade) and the levelling beam (patella) together dato (sickle) and the rumbo (handhoe).

^ Grain is usually animal thrashed then winnowed by a six toothed wooden pitch fork and wind. Rice is nursery grown and transplanted to the field. Vheat and rice together X'/ith cotton are cultivated in the traditional ways with a heavy expenditure of man and animal labour. But cotton for which Sind is famous is cultivated rather better than most other crops.

32 -I , 4- O Secondary crops include millets, oil-seeds,

pulses, sugar canes and a variety of vegetables, these are grown both for domestic consumption and for sale although, as in all agriculture, market-orientation is not well developed.

Perhaps the most distinctive feature of Sindi cultivation is the variability of yields and the area under crop as illustrated in Appendix 3 and h.

Since this thesis is primarily concerned v/ith social aspect of Sindi life then consideration of other aspects of farming are dealt with in the section of social organisation.

The rearing of animals is an important feature of agrarian communities in Sind, livestock including cattle, buffaloes,sheep, camels and horses. Sind has its own typical breeds of cattle such as Thari in the Tharparkar region also called White Sindi. Another tyoe is the Aed Sindi or Bhagnari. The ihari breed became important during the first world vjar v/hen the animals were taken to the nearest army camp for the supply of milk. According to a statement of w illiamson ^Thari is a cross betv/een the iiankrej. Red Sindi, Gir and Nagori breeds and is not homogeneous. Because conditions in the arid region have always been critical and cattle have always regularly moved to the adjoining areas in search of fodder then cross breeding is traditionally normal. In spite of this heterogeneous characteristic it.has good milk producing capacity and can suit all types of field work and it has enough endurance to face famine and drought. Bhagnari is the next important breed. *ffbout- i.ts origin it is said to have migrated to Pakistan by the route of Bolan pass

33 in the period of Rig Vedic Aryans and scattered in Kalat state (Baluchistan). The Bhagnari breed has numerous local names like Dajal, Nari and nachhi, all good for their draft characteristics.

es The goat, sheep, buffalo/are also notable Sindi species and horse breeding is also being popularised. The activeness and capability of enduring much fatigue are their significant characteristics. The most notable breed of Sindi buffaloes is the Hurrah type. They are good suppliers of milk which is very rich and has a high fat content. The buffaloes mainly live in the deltaic areas and in good alluvial tracts. Sheep are milked but their main commercial significance is the supply of wool.

Sindis have deep sentimental attachment to their animals and even in cases of financial difficulties they are hardly willing to sell them. The animals and lands • are treated as part and parcel of familial organisations. When a Sindi due to unavoidable circumstances is compelled to sell them this is really a day of mourning. At the time of purchasing land or cattle formal meetings are held amongst the family members and consent of other villagers is also sought. Traditional methods of disease protection of animals are very numerous and have many magical elements. Some diseases are supposed to be the effect of evil spirits and under such conditions the "TaWTz" amulets are obtained from "Mulla" and "Bhopos" (self styled saints). They are hung around the necks of animals, one type for curing disease and another to check the evil eye. Around the neck of the. buffaloes and cov/s apart froin bells sometimes a garland is hung which is called "Bhanwar Kali". This traditional garland is made of the backbone of tortoises. The

3i* Plate k

4

1

JA pieces of bone are made into the shape of the leaves of the Sisso tree and are tied around the neck with small pieces of iron. The iron pieces have also the same design. During an eclipse of the moon the horns of pregnant goats, buffaloes and cows are coloured with red ribbons and they are not allowed to come under the open sky.

When cattle do not give milk they are given raw sugar and salt over which the Bhopo or Mulla recites religious verses. Many other beliefs also control the treatments of livestock.

In most villages there is to be found a specialist in the traditional treatment of animal ailments and while veterinary services are available in the larger towns the local faiths in traditional remedies are usually stronger than trust in scientific official agencies. One striking feature is that the various magical beliefs cut across the Muslim - Hindu religious differences.

In the case of livestock there is of course, as in other peasant type rural areas very little specialization in use. Buffaloes and cattle are used both for draft purposes and for food supply (see Appendix 5)« Sheep are valuable for wool and milk products.

Usually stock are not allowed to compete with human demands for food and therefore animal nutrition tends to be poor and variable in spite of the high status given to livestock. In the Tharparkar and hilly regions xvhere rain fed agriculture is dominant then livestock are both important and also vulnerable to drought. It is also in these regions where'the effect of soil erosion as the result of overgrazing is greatest.

35 As can be seen from Chapter I conditions both for cultivation and for pastoralism are difficult. The direct consequences of aridity are obvious resulting in a strong survival orientation and fear of risk taking through specialization. Additionally there is a problem of periodic attacks by locust swarms particul• arly from Iran, Baluchistan and Rajistan.

As earlierinoted the destructive effecto of Indus floods has also produced a combination of farming for safety rather than profit^and fatalism. Even the development of irrigation has not completely removed hazards. In the district of Khairpur an area of 34,7^2 acres of fertile land has been ruined by water• logging and an increase in salinity as the consequence of irrigation and smaller though significant areas of Hyderabad, Nawabshah and Thatta have been similarly effected. All this must be borne in mind when consid• ering the rural reluctance to consider change and the Hindu and Muslim reliance on fate and on God. It is also against this background that the strength of kinship and the family must be set, the family serving as an economic unit of strength "and outside/which lies danger. Quite apart from the presence or "absence of other opportunities social mobility therefore tends to be weak in that individuals moving out not only feel themselves very vulnerable but also euch a movement weakens the family unit and is therefore disloyal. Here therefore the social, cultural, and economic elements all combine to strengthen the family and authority within it.

Now however the effects of government measures to reduce farming risks and improve production in the national interest are tending to destroy the traditional

36 forces. Farmers and landowners are learning mechanised methods of cultivation by way of demon• stration plots and hired tractors are made available. The output of crops has been increased. Sowing of legumes and the use of green and organic manures are among the measures which are taught to the agricultur• ists. Recently the agriculture department has estab• lished depots of Ammonium Sulphate, Ammonium Phosphate, Calcium, Ammonium Nitrate, Super Phosphate, Urea,Muriate of Potash etc.

Mechanised farming is being popularised with big landlords especially in areas of Colonization schemes such as Sukkur Barrage. Some landlards in Larkana districts have used mechanised methods and are getting good results. Even in a few tenant farms green and farmyard manure has been used.

One experimental farm with an area of more than 700 acres is working near Sakarand and there is another farm at Padidan.

With livestock also qualitative improvements are being made. The Bhagnari bre^-d of cattle is being improved at various centres such as Jacobabad and near Dadu while at Gambat Taluka a Thari breeding centre has been established. At Jhimpur in Thatta a sheep breeding station has been achieving good results.

As noted earlier however the main problems remains that of land shortage and government efforts in exten• ding the area under irrigation are vital.

37 Without new land resources farms will remain small and it will be difficult to ensure that improved varieties of plants, breeds of animals and better husbandry techniques are used by the farmers. As long as farms remain small and sub• sistence orientated so will the existing social structure of the rural population remain little changed. The recent Guddu Barrage scheme 90 miles north of Sukkur is an example of reclamation. By its three feeder canals it is estimated that barrages can give weir controlled irrigation which may ultim• ately cover a cultivable area more than 2.5 million acres on both sides of the river in Mirpur Mathello in Sukkur district'and it is expected that there will be in particular an increase in rice cultivation.

Experts believe that the scheme seems financially productive and that there can be expected a net return "of 4.5^ and 5.3/^ on the capital outlay in 20th and 30th year after its construction" (District Census Jacobabad I961).

In Guddu barrage area the provision of advance loans to cultivators and the arrangement of "Mandi" (markets) towns and farms for cattle and agriculture are very significant. The Gihulam Mohammod Barrage scheme' is also important. The barrage isas^^^^s. a cultivable areaj^aoout 2,8 million acres and will irrigate 700,000 acres and there will be ein increase in the output of rice, wheat and cotton. There are also schemes for tackling the deteriorating Indus lands where 23/° is affected by salinity and 17J^. is water• logged. 'There is a need of the construction of tubewells and good drainage arrangements.

38 In Khairpur further soil reclamation experiments are being conducted on I38 acres of land. Statistically / the situation is. Sind is similar to that of V/est Pakistan as a whole. In spite of considerable investment in land reclamation which increased newly irrigated land by 1.3 million acres between 1955 - 1960 the shortage of land and small scale farming remains dominant. In Hyderabad Division the average holding size according to the Census of I96O for agriculture was 13.7 acres, in Khairpur Division 9«^ the acres and in/small area under farming in Karachi district l6.3 acres. V/ith prevalent food supply per capita in grain equivalent averaging 15 ozs. a day then the survival element remains strong. From this brief resume of the main characteristics of agriculture tvo main points emerge. The first has already been emphasised to be the part played by the family in the traditional rural scene. Secondly there is the fact of change. Individualism may begin to affect society but at the moment family units remain dominant in the new settled areas. The biggest change results from changes in settliement. Once the extended family homestead vras always part of a village close- knit by kiiship and functions. Now individual home• steads of the "Gothro" pattern (see Chapter V) are becoming more numerous. At the same time technical improvements are opening the eyes of individuals to opportunities outside primary production while at the same time self-employment in agriculture is in some districts being eroded by the growth of wage-labour employment on some larger farms, (Appendix 9).

39 CJriAPTER III

Appendix 2,

Total Agriculture Kon Agriculture labour force. labour force.

1. Khairpur 8,55,303 2,66,7^0 Division 2. Hyderabad 7,63,977 3,65,39^ Division

3. Karachi 16,5^2 6,65,661 district

Source - Census of Pakistan Vol. 3, West Pakistan, population I96I, Ministry of Home and Kashmir Affai**a Government of Pakistan, Karachi. CHAPTliR III

Appendix 3.

CROP ACREAGES by Districts - District Census of I96I,

(in acres) 1. .Jacobabad . Rice Wheat Barley Jowar 1947 -48 1,77,93^* 71,873 82 64,171 19^8 -k9 2,17,539 86,673 96 57,872 19^9 -50 2,17,909 92,152 96 64,125 1950 -51 2,35,129 96,205 186 61,185 1951' -52 2,19,834 48,857 144 44,969 1952- -53 2,39,^00 65,565 479 35,500 1955- -54 2,56,568 72,865 136 48,564 195^- -55 2,42,345 71,600 76 47,908 1955- -56 2,69,209 101,827 500 45,269 1956- -57 2,45,131 116,666 236 ^3,375 1957- -58 2,45,600 105,510 65 41,500 1958- -59 2,45,600 130,000 847 40,321 1959- -60 2,616,00 115,000 - 41,100 1960- -61 2,63,000 104,490 1,698 43,100

41 Appendix 3 (Cont).

1. Jacobabad (Cont.J

Bajira oram

1947-48 21,705 1,89,436 1.

1948-49 14,029 1.89,993 2.

1949-50 16,413 1,57,858 3.

1950-51 22,490 1,64,198 4.

1951-52 15,554 1,63,602 5.

1952-53 15,127 1,86 , 438 6.

1953-54 15,145 2,05,061 7.

1954-55 11,445 2,33,700 8.

1955-56 11,246 2,17,057 9.

1956-57 8,595 2,11,191 10.

1957-58 9,755 1,87,450 11.

1958-59 6,505 1,88,400 12.

1959-60 7,510 1,83,610 13.

1960-61 5,900 2,35,200 l4o

4§ Appendix 3 (Cont.)

lo Jacobabad (Cont.)

- Mung Peas Oil• Sugar Cotton Total and Moth, seeds cane area Mash and cropped other Pulses 1 t

f 47,284 35 ^^'928 53 7,402 7,03,793 1.

107 41,752 55,413 50 5,735 7,07,238 2.

45 41,321 27,789 51 3,662 6,96,774 3.

137 53,197 39,606 101 •7,569-. 76,65,597 4.

28 53,123 39,163 188 12,031 6,56,244 5.

! 100 56,777 31,353 175 29,846 7,45,943 6. :

132 59,974 31,173 311 11,863 7,85,100 7.

153 73,475 37,305 405 8,432 8,01,634 8. •

22 76,277 54,858 551 8,181 8,42,991 9o i i 26 57,920 56,891 388 8,512 0 0 10.

90 58,414 44,390 655 7,460 0 0 11.

12. o o - • 0 605 3,942 7,83,715

2,142 31,754 600 4,200 8,13,346 13. j

- 1,095 30,800 700 3,700 0 0 14.

k3 Appendix 3 (Cont)

2o Sanghar. Year Other Rice Wheat Barley Jower Bajira Gram Cere all (Maize 1. 1947-48 7,881 1,78,506 21 9,308 30,019 237 137

2.- 1948-49 8,805 2,20,955 21 8,329 32,385 332 181

3. 1949-50 8,334 1,83,138 10 12,658 36,117 390 470

4. 1950-51 .9,892 1,88,540 15 13,102 40,119 44o^ 829

5. 1951-52 10,071 . 1,50,857 12 15,138 24,192 607 791

6. 1952-53 6,093 1,94,532 15 16,416 32,802 45.7 650

7o 1953-54 5,653 2,12,083 16 19,392 37,625 2144 404

8. .1954-55 6,273 1,91,750 . 85 22,239 42,267 2746 697

9. 1955-56 7,255 2,03,166 81 17,347 33,445 3130 862

10. 1956-57 9,067 1,84,046 - 20,946 36,620 I806 713

11. 1957-58 11,005 1,88,387 4 16,239 30,375 I4l4 835 .

12. 1958-59 12,288 1,98,000 20,962 32,791 1526 834

13. 1959-60 13,984 1,95,020 . . .- 20,407 34,109 1965 973

14. 1960-61 7,908 -.1,89,376 . .- 18,300 33,600 2240 2429

44 Appendix 3 (Cont)

2. Sanghar (Cont)

Mung Peas, Oil Sugar Cotton Total and Moth Seeds Cane area Mash and cropped other pulses

313 2,799 8,595 200 - -. 1.

2. 209 3,449 6,972 893 1,67,610 -

220 3,676 12,060 1,045 - - 3.

192 2,916 13,708 1,215 - - 4.

745 3, 480 38,396 1,067 - - 5.

361 3,489 16,407 768 - - 6.

5,87,440 371 7 ,997.. .11,199 . 1,667 2,05,051 7. 8. 440 12,797 10,125 2,123 2,06,442 5,88,775

311 8,240 25,397 2,432 2,25,764 6,00,009 9.

104 7,002 . 43,125 3,150 . 2,35,826 . - 10 0

11. 170 9,591 30,743 4,653 2,42,238 -

6,48,770 12. . o .a • • 0 0^ 0 0 5,182 2,46,017

227 3,665 45,601 7,000 2','.43, 000 6,58,835 13. 14. 755 2,930 45,700 8,400 2,41,600 0 0

45 Appendix 3 (Cont.)

3. Sukkur

Year Rice Wheat Barley Jowar Baj ira

1947-48 1,54,021 1,02,823 826 13,400 25,047 1.

1948-49 1,34,724 1,67,420 2,898 -84,061 21,138 2.

1949-50 1,53,290 1,33,222 2,107 79,000 22,114 3.

1950-51 1,78,459 1,65,775 8,526 85,655 33,653 - 4.

1951-52 1,79,988 1,-09,038 2,037 73,293 .26,875 5.

1952-53 1,92,146. 1,13,318 1,649 92,852 29,001 6.

1953-54 2,00,412 1,15,275 999 87,672 25,493 7.

1954-55 2,07,201 1,26,547 1,233 85,351 28,919 8.

1955-56 2,15,863 1,50,673 1,328 79,960 26,640 9.

1956-57 2,17,402 1:, 39,988 2,108 72,060 24,390 10 0

1957-58 2,23,500 1,40,500 2,171 71,700 25,930 11.

1958-59 2,31,453 1,54,900 3,001 71,111 28,230 12.

1959-6e 2,11,316 1,60,290 3,400 81,156 38,637 13.

1960-61 1,86,300 2,11,027 2,965 88,700 41,200 14.

46 Appendix 3 (Cont.)

3. Suklair (Cont).

Gram Other Mung Peas, Oil Sugar Cotton Total cereals & Moth Seeds Cane area (Maize) Mash etc. cropped

1,30,360 412 39,966 21,070 136 . 7,899 6,28,021 1. .

1,60,500 426 47,547 43,100 216 4,972 6,85,289 2.

1,04,886 327 47,478 22,556 . 228 6,896 . 6,78,594 3.

1,10,715 515 47,539 ;25,971 243 8,207 7,53,380 4.

1,16,971 10 265 54,357 29,745 198 7,540 6,55,416 5.

1,44,165 15 660 57,833 27,180 320 11,869 7,24,484 6.

1,40,077 37 593 46,747 27,524 293 8,737 7,43,844 7.

en 67 609 69,697 21,412 324 8,489 6,87,752 8.

1,63,782 264 516 65,340 37,748 388 7,178 8,39,344 9.

1,51,493 220 777 66,032 38,652 370 8,130 8,04,127 10.

1,54,600 24 742 57,597 39,475 337 8,563 N.A. 11.

1,69,816 257 N.A. - -N.A. N.A. 443 8,602 8,47,476 12.

1,89,700 322 2,052 2,197 46,410 600 8,4oo 8,90,408 13.

1,88,625 324 430 205 38,600 800 6,500 N.A. 14.

47 Appendix 3 (Cont.)

4. Nawabshah

Year Rice Wheat Barley Jowar Bajira Gram

1947-48 1,499 .1,94,214 1,436 77,499 31,362 12,666 1.

1948-49 1,761 2,16,160 1,287 90* 061 26,174 8,255 2.

1949-50 2,170 1,90,263 1,456 87,722 29,086 8,584 3.

1950-51 4,258 1,38,611 2,195 88,053 31,790 12,492 4,

1951-52 3,878 1,37,289 2,106 86,574 26,910 12,171 5.

1952-53 3,749 2,19,198 2,250 1,04,039 22,934 10,656 6i

1953-54 6,368 2,05,183 530 1,04,647 25,440 12,459 7.

1954-55 7,212 1,53,278 287 95,014 28,789 13,289 8.

1955-56 5,466 1,86,405 291 1,18,088 19,995 15,915 9.

1956-57 6,246 1,95,932 257 89,487 24,703 18,298 10.

1957-58 7,724 1,77,925 599 77,015 23,883 16,669 11.

1958-59 9,187 1,93,804 665 85,185 22,943 14,600 12.

1959-60 6,555 2,20,299 600 87,900 24,301 20,759 13.

1960-61 4,592 2,12,592 644 71,900 29,000 26,319 14.

48 Appendix 3 (Cont.)

4. Nawabshan (Cont.) Othe r Mung Peas, Q.^ Moth y-^^ Sugar Cotton Total Cereals & 0 4.T,« Seeds Cane Area Maize Mash & other pulse s Cropped

573 2,805 53,04:9 59,035 3,382 1,87,555 8,21,433 1.

512 2,986 55,346 35,791 3,848 79,006 6,03,290 2.

508 2,l6l 56,993 62,246 4,671 2,05,642 9,28,653 3.

477 2,423 60,897 94,706 3,886 2,18,314 1,055,692 4.

413 3,997 87,434 1,34,204 3,945 2,16,712 9,45,118 5.

738 2,545 64,476 72,767 4,937 2,29,136 9,46,817. 6.

1,275 2,357 68,4:95 87,430 9,422 1,02,460 6,93,444 7.

1,989 -342 66,631 1,90,250 10,369 1,08,365 7,28,459 8.

1,858 355 59,295 1.73,764 8,677 1,40,798 0 « 0 9.

2,077 262 65,8D3 1,47,550 9,895 1,25,964 • 0 • 10.

2,732 93 52,298 1,72,233 10,775 1,60,833 • 0 e 11.

2,439 • 0 0 e 0 0 19,368 1,25,897 8,04,367 12.

3,586 40 28,335 1,69,184 15,900 1,19,700 8,96,715 13.

4,418 48 27,681 1,62,600 19,100 1,41,200 ... 14.

49 Appendix 3 (Cont.)

5. Khairpur Other Year Rice Wheat Barley J owar Bijira Gram Cereals (Maize) 1947-48 14,805 1,12,920 1,482 84,557 4,672 22,585 60 1.

» 1948-49 13,761. 1,16,847 694 79,495 6,842 19,479 90 2.

1949-50 14,259 1,00,437 2,855 75,619 12,471 16,418 128 3.

1950-51 14,982 97,743 2,210 68,787 4,511 26,655 163 4.

1951-52 15,174 1,02,137 2,108 76,905 2,787 26,757 368 5.

1952-53 11,462 1,26,000 2,255 86,000 3,594 20,178 430 6.

1953-54 14,671 1,37,000 2,926 72,000 3,276 29,207 614 7.

1954-55 6,483 1,23,495 3,157 75,208 5,206 25,728 6o4 8.

1955-56 6,228 1,39,000 6,292 71,695 3,494 31,329 4oo 9.

1956-57 62,337 1,33,740 2,994 59,616 6,058 26,370 392 10.

1957-58 13,419 1,23,860 2,479 58,478 3,905 31,750 756 11.

1958-59 16,797 1,35,609 2,961 63,917 4,324 25,553 966 12.

1959-60 14,504 1,38,464 4,800 63,450 6,821 30,615 632 13.

1960-61 8,111 1,33,968 3,789 61,100 7,100 27,452 740 14.

50 Appendix 3 (Cont.)

5. IChairpur (Cont.) Mung Peas Oil Sugar Cotton Indigo Total and Moth Seeds Cane area Mash and cropped other pulses

150 73,238 49,930 2,839 38'.000 3,26,401 1.

L 32 38,710 49,655 2,905 38,000 - 3,45,126 2.

86 48,819 53,789 2,327 46,695 3,36,003 3.

23 52,055 79,245 1,740 52,000 - 3,67,444 4.

- 39,729 92,013 2,266 72,304 4,05,668 5.

33 35,869 49,149 3,874 90,889 - 4,14,148 6.

118 44,616 47,593 4,866 63,234 4,25,227 7.

23 29,359 59,422 7,026 72,774 - 4,38,357 8.

49 33,782 60,205 5,897 81,272 - 4,02,476 9.

36 32,327 54,671 5,207 90,995 0 0 10.

25 30,074 54,359 6,845 94,843 "* 0 e 11.

.. - . e 9,296 90,006 - 4,39,671 12.

99 3,24o 42,000 10,500 72,700 4,83,025 13.

106 120 49,400 10,900 67,600 14.

51 Appendix 3 (Cont.)

6. Dadu

Year Rice Wheat Barley Jowar Bajira

1947- 48 1,52,513 94,715 1,634 30,050 1,158 1.

1948- 49 1,05,580 l,32,34o 2,530 6l,lo6 3,512 2.

1949-50 1,47,000 1,00,625 1,591 72,484 4,469 3.

1950-51 1,51,617 90,499 3,131 84,019 4,o49 4.

1951- 52 i,31,324 71,448 3,695 50,390 256 5.

1952- 53 1,28,256 83,323 3,420 58,182 996 6.

1953-54 1,40,158 73,265 3,720 99,325 1,991 7

1954-55 1,45,732 93,755 3,713 44,192 3,250 8.

1955-56 1,49,846 1,15,702 3,658 90,932 413 9.

1956-57 80,000 1,27,970 1,5^7 1,54,302 10 10.

1957-58 1,40,287 93,333 2,321 29,896 72 11.

1958-59 1,43,370 1,33,384 1,765 56,355 57 12.

1959-60 1,51,569 1,35,946 2,400 84,920 3,075 13.

1960-61 1,44,825 1,27,474 1,816 47,700 600 14.

52 Appendix 3 (Cont.)

6. Dadu (Cont.)

Gram Maize Mung Peas Oil Sugar Cotton Total and Moth Seeds Cane area Mash and cropped. other pulses 11,158 - - 60,549 15,452 69 5,305 4,45,329 1.

10,895 - - 62,804 18,815 115 3,482 4,64,419 2.

9,175 22 281 65,049 18,650 347 13,180 5,21,559 3.

9,642 30 l4o 84,143 54,414 224 3,091 5,01,909 4,

7,114 52 10 73,277 22,880 558 2,241 4,19,283 5

5,850 49 152 78,892 24,794 797 4,749 4,69,464 6.

8,276 38 30 74,707 22,159 1,388 3,345 5,33,451 7.

13,094 68 25 43,740 22,555 1,768 2,930 4,79,514 8.

13,966 25 50 59,904 34,667 2,167 3,4^ - 9.

12,600 20 220 61,739 56,365 2,182 3,657 9,50,955 10.

16,360 88 - 66,239 23,560 1,780 2,521 - 11.

3L2.620 95 - - - 3,714 2,056 - 12.

20,775 90 - 2y04l 44,332 2,600 2,600 6,67,524 13.

17,742 156 - 1,570 35,600 2,900 2,800 - 14.

53' Appendix 3 (Cont.)

7. Larkana

Year Rice vmeat Barley Jowar Bajira Gram

1947-48 3,58,200 79,696 1,720 14,961 8 68,245 1.

1948-49 3,51,144 1,03,415 263 13,150 2 45,920 2o

1949-50 3,61,004 1,03,511 652 12,766 42 53,010 3.

1950-51 3,65,756 73,834 932 10,336 34 58,895 4.

1951-52 3,72,984 72,054 563 10,922 6 60,513 5.

1952-53 3,84,578 78,892 397 5,382 2 73,213 6.

1953-54 3,87,804 74,64? 149^ 10,471 10 76,939 7.

1954-55 3,93,4o4 83,872 100 8,582 Nil 1,06,209 8.

1955-56 3,70,551 91.874 107 7,351 15 1,48,760 9.

1956-57 3,29,154 1,17,626 10 18,657 89 89,360 10.

1957-58 3,80,609 80,365 155 4,021 6 95,175 11.

1958-59 3,87,664 1,07,351 171 4,363 5 73,545 12.

3.959-60 3,78,272 1,15,952 200 9,556 Nil 73,780 13.

1960-61 2,93,610 1,12,392 210 14,500 Nil 66,399 14.

54 Appendix 3 (Cont.)

7. Larkana (Cont.)

Other Mung Peas Oil Sugar Cotton Total Cereals & Moth Seeds Cane indigo area (Maize) Mash etc:. cropped

Nil 16 91,561 55,420 269 172 6,28,241 1.

Nil Nil 80,339 1,32,475 239 24 5,48,122 2.

15 92,626 59,050 154 66 6,41,959 3.

2 1,06,252 68,875 237 8 6,90,833 4.

2 98,727 83,090 165 229 7,09,342 5.

2 8,0082 97,392 259 303 8,21,782 6.

7 98,413 ' 64,700 397 129 8,49,209 7.

15 1,26,747 69,450 282 74 N.A. 8.

35 96,951 75,504 347 75 II 9.

9 90,041 91,424 380 Nil 7,82,372 10 0

15 94,198 90,240 403 ti N.A. 11.

15 N.A. N.A. 773 7 8,27,453 12.

Nil Nil 67,649 0 800 Nil 8,37,110 13.

58 20 46,5000 1,100 400 - 14.

55 Appendix 3 (Cont.)

8. Karachi

Year Wheat Jowar Other Mung & Oil Cereals Mash Seeds.

1960-61 398 6570 h5Z 1380 16

56. Appendix 3 (Cont.)

Hyderabad.

Year Rice Wheat Barley Jowar Bajira Gram

1947-48 1,22,500 2, 06,105 575 7,609 54,397 1,386 1.

1948-49 1,71,453 2,09,426 749 12,711 69,121 1,099 2.

1949-50 1,50,842 2,12,578 632 13,468 72,103 1,964 3.

1950-51 1,49,610 2,03,689 615 12,823 71,755 1,870 4.

1951-52 1,20,922 1,63,977 629 7,850 48,280 855 5.

1952-53 1,06,332 2,09,236 593 9,760 51,884 996 6.

1953-54 1,66,255 2,13,519 560 10,811 78,091 868 7.

1954-55 1,62,520 2,24,222 572 10,356 76,266 1,069 8.

1955-56 1,69,182 2,26,757 620 8,852 58,039 1,485 9.

1956-57 2,05,477 2,26,624 596 11,875 68,600 2,005 10.

1957-58 2,35,093 2,17,485 628 13,225 67,180 2,785 11.

1958-59 2,66,421 2,55,955 648 13.555 66,713 2,065 12.

1959-60 3,52,677 2,65,181 700 14,522 57,741 2,024 13.

1960-61 2,81,230 2,55,39^9 742 17,400 69,100 2,600 14.

57 Appendix 3 (Cont.)

9. Hyderabad (Cont.)

Other Mung Peas Oil Sugar Cotton Total Cereals and Moth Seeds Cane area (Maize) Mash and cropped. other pulse s 208 631 10,760 5,250 1,733 2,34,560 8.62),156

390 971 12,449 7,290 3,139 2,05,182 8,40,631 2.

389 655 14,741 7,057 3,190 2,01,585 8,47,108 3.

482 501 14,208 6,550 3,355 2,02,500 8,60,864 4.

388 195 69,920 5,496 3,284 2,04,263 9,13,107 5.

733 170 70,725 2,751 3,710 2,30,577 8,92,138 6.

697 Nil 10,000 4,500 3,563 2,15,851 9,76,472 7.

611 200 10,127 3,290 2,893 2,12,863 9,49,605 8.

401 1,602 13,897 13,008 2,905 2,25,170 9,48,383 9.

527 1,040 12,346 33,153 3,370 2,33,318 9,50,955 10.

615 l,04o 12,713 33,457 4,570 2,42,155 N.A. 11.

709 t N.A. N.A. N.A. 3,956 2,44,444 10,96,069 12.

1,157 l,o6o 3,605 38,012 4,300 2,51,000 10,95,680 13.

1,530 1,188 2,293 61,900 5,100 2,56,300 - 14.

58 Appendix 3 (Cont.)

10. Thatta

Year Rice Wheat Barley J owar Bajira Gram

1947-48 i,39,092 7,547 7,428 10,300 5,893 982

1948-49 1,79,000 22,155 18,125 21,863 10,230 965

1949- 50 1,90,000 13,875 17,300 21,951 11,608 316

1950-51 2,22,398 13,800 14,050 16,327 13,055 544

1951-52 1,55,155 6,350 6,560 10,659 6,225 626

1952-53 1,81,230 13,838 9,759 11,130 10,812 l,i4o

1953-54 1,75,000 15,148 9,978 7,040 11,769 960

1954-55 1,53,500 4,705 6,828 4,582 7,230 515

1955-56 1,61,4oo 18,477 13,546 16,765 8,325 3,732

1956-57 1,69,244 22,060 12,450 21,455 8,510 3,972

1957-58 1,71,320 3,761 6,450 8,684 5,471 3,355

1958-59 1,95,480 7,996 7,250 9,630 5,826 4,960

1959-60 1,98,450 7,590 7,100 32,060 5,737 5,205

1960-61 2,11,450 5,920 5,650 37,900 9,100 2.485

59 Appendix 3 (Cont.)

10. Thatta (Cont.)

Maize Mung Peas Oil Sugar Cotton Total and Moth Seeds Cane area Mash and cropped other Pulses : • - 927 1.357 11,118 13,989 1,205 Nil 2,81,942 1.

1,091 4,588 11,073 24,408 1,815 Nil 3,27,757 2.

1,045 4,232 29,944 15,200 2,092 Nil - 3.

897 3,813 20,008 17,375 1,505 10 - 4.

593 4,990 20,391 9,496 700 Nil - 5«

534 5,835 24,130 11,250 1,420 131 - 6.

784 5,008 27,641 5,422 1,065 260 - 7.

719 5,346 13,445 4,470 695 5 - 8.

1,745 2,459 13,214 9,430 827 Nil - 9.

1,945 2,595 21,780 13,352 697 Nil - 10.

2,055 2,712 14,181 11,550 850 Nil - 11.

1,570 N.A. N.A. N.A. 1,001 222 3,18,293 12.

1,580 5,597 10,582 9,350 800 100 3,31,858 13.

2,135 7,020 5,550 8,100 1,200 100 N.A. 14.

60 CHAPTER III

Appendix 4

Production, Rice and wheat (in tons).

1957/58.

District Rice Wheat

Khai rpur 5,l47 36,051

Larkana 125,844 18,265

Jacobabad 20,183 24,772

Sukkur 91,634 41,038

Nawab shah 2,963 48,859

Thatta 31,721 630

Dadu 59,372 22,403

Hyderabad 62,185 75,668

Tharparkar l4,090 67,008

Sanghar 2,766 64,018

Cotton Seed average production per acre in maunds.

Khairpur Division 3.4

Hyderabad Division 5'3 Source - Major Commodities of Pakistan. Ministry of Finance l^conomic Affairs division, Governmen:^ of Pakistan, i^-arachi 1960. CHAPTER III

Appendix 5 Average number of work animals per holding in Sind by Agriculture Census 196o«

Division Khairpuri

under 1.0 acre 1

loO to under 2.5 acres 1

2.5 to under 5oO acres 2

5.0 to under 7.5 acres 2

12.5 to under 25.0 acres 2

25.0 to under 50.0 acres 3

5O0O to under 150.0 acres 3

150.0 acres and over 3

Division Hyderabad:

under 1.0 acre 1

1.0 to under 2.5 acres 2

2.5 to under 5«0 acres 2

5o0 to under 7.5 acres 2

7.5 to under 12.5 acres 2

12.5 to under 25.0 acres 2

25.0 to under 5O0O acres 3

50oO to under 150.O acrs^g 3

150 acres and above •' 5 Appendix 5 (Cont.)

Average number of work animals per holding .

Karachi District:

Under 1.0 acre 1

1.0 to under 2.5 acres 2

2.5 to under 5oO acres 2

5.0 to under 7'5 acres 1

7.5 to under 12.5 acres 2

12.5 to under 25.0 acres 2

25oO to under 50.0 acres 3

50.0 to under 150.0 acres 4

150.0 acres and over 3

Pakistan Agriculture Census Vol. 2 1960, Ministry

of Agriculture and works government Pakistan I963.

6^3 Appendix 6

Number of Permajient agricultural hired labourers in Sind.

Division Hyderabad 98,6o4

Division Khairpur 1,86,518

District Karachi 1,820

Source - Palcistan Agriculture Census Vol. 2 I960,

Ministry of Agriculture and works 1963.

6'4 CHAPTlSR IV

As in Chapter III we are mainly concerned with occupations and social groupings, but here in the non-agricultural sections of Sindi life, these being of the most direct significance to this particular thesis.

65 CHAPTiiii IV

Economic Organisation - Non^Agricultural Sections

In Sind apart from cultivation there is a smaller sector of Sindii' Society which is engaged in non agricultural occupations. In this sector one finds a complex of factors including heredity, environment and technical skill in particular fields.

This part of Sindi economic organisation includes a great variety of what we have to term socio-economic communities such as blacksmiths, carpenters, hajamy (barbers), silver smiths, gold smiths, tailors, potters, Mirasi (professional attenders of ceremonies), marriage brokers, midwives, cart drivers, basket and matmakers, shopkeepers, porters jugglers, cobblers, painters, chowkidars, butchers, big businessmen, teachers, advocates, government executives and then officials, etc.

The characteristic feature of these groups is above all distinctiveness. Every group due to the different nature of work performed ,can ,b4 easily recognised in relation to other groups. In the following pages we discuss the distinctive nature of such occupational groupings and their relative sig• nificance. ' " .

However varied in function and status these examples may seem they illustrate collectively and separately some fundamental characteristics of Sindi. economy and society. When we come to examine social organisation in Section III Me shall see how different lines of cleavage interact. Here on the economic 66 level we find first that differences between Hindus and Muslim^ practices sometiime exist and sometime do not, secondly that the question of status, associated with some aspects of caste, jplays a ..large part in the definition of economic communities, thirdly, that the new ai well as traditional occupation groups have community solidarities in a very marked degree.

At one particular level' of socio-economic distinct- • iveness, we find groups such as the blacksmiths and artisans in which individual's are tied together both by common technical skills and oi?ten heredity. I I The blacksmiths or ironworkers are a very important element in the economic life! of Sind, performing indispensable work in rural 'areas in particular but .also in towns. At a low-grade non-specialised level one finds the single smith with no workshop but only a set of handtools and equipment which can be set up in any open space or roadsid,e in village and town. Occasionally with one or two helpers, generally very young male relations, sons or nephews, such a smith using indigenous traditional tools unchanged for mill- I ennia, will make or repair a wide variety of iron goods.

At a higher level one finds the smith with a work• shop able to perform a large range of non-specialised i work in a greater volume of larger goods. There is however little technological, development only a change in simple scale and in general location in that a smith's workshop can only be supported by a fairly large village or small town. '

67 riatc 5

s Plate 6 In both cases the craft tradition is very strong and is illustrated by attitudes to their tools which are passed on from generation to generation and greatly venerated. One blacksmith said to me "I was very shocked when my hammer was stolen as I inherited it from my forefathers".

All smiths have very close contacts with the agricultural communities for whom they mainly work, making and repairing blades for axes, knives, ploughs and spades and all the iron-mongery required. Occup• ation apart they are indistinguishable from farming . families.

The artisans, are very similar to the blacksmiths. Again essential to rural life and important in towns they are essentially hand and craft workers using traditional and often inherited tools and techniques, sometimes in small workshops, sometimes more simply. They usually make tools and articles which are usually finished assemblage of smith-made products and other materials.

Potters on the other hand are as specialised as iron smiths. Requiring kilns for clay-baking, the potters have permanent workshops to which the clay is brought and fabricated. Variations in this/"group are mainly between levels of skill and production.

The cobblers are a mixed group. They repair and manufacture shoes. In Nawabshah and other towns they are seen sitting on the footpaths, others maintain their shops and work in the factories.

68 Painters. The ^roup of painters have also significant position in the social life of Sind. They have technical skill in printing traditional designs on clothes and have their typical seals. Their family members also assist them.

Gold and silver smiths - Such^grgrips are more organised and have their shops in the best locality of the towns. Various levels of distinction exist in their nature and quality of their work. Some have a reputation in satisfying rural tastes and some serve the more sophisticated urban market. Economically this group is relatively wealthy. The role of the tailors in the social organisation of Sind is also significant. They cover the requirements not only of traditional Sind but alS)0 of modern Sind. The degree of specialization and sophistication in some groups is very limited.

"Mirasi" (professional attendants of ceremonies) The cbmmunrties/^of such ^type are the product of rich society throughout India and Pakistan. In a very ritualistic way they please the people at the time of various ceremonies such as marriage, birth. Their renumeration depends on the good will and the status of the families.

"Hajam"- These constitute a traditional community performing various functions in the villages and towns of Sind. Their nature of services differ due to situational factors. In the marriages they act as messengers and also assist the families in

69 ^ ^ o ttie distribution of marriage food. They are also J cj.-^^^' reAirarded at the occasion of circumcision and marriages. In ,^ the towns and. big cities they have their haircutting salons. ff>^.-^4i^^a.shermen - This is a service community which both /) ' - f maintain shops and also work for hire.

'k .Z'M"^ Midwives also form an occupational group whose yf"; job is to assist the pregnant women at the time of delivery. Sometimes their pay is settled and sometimes not.

Jugglers make up a purely illiterate rural . , , "j ^ ,, i occupational community. - They earn their living by •demonstrating various entertainments.

The butchers group*is not only an important part of the economic organisation but also they have con• siderable significance in the social life of the people. cAt the time of festival of "Baqreed" their role is . >very notable. They slaughter the cow or goat or sheep in Muslim societies, but normally they sell meat and are traditionally regarded untrustv/orthy in trade. In a city like Karachi the butchers have numerous sub groups. borne form part of the meat market and get the slaughtered and inspected meat from the government departments. Some butchers have independent small shops inhere they slaughter their animals and sell the meat on a fixed rate. Certain butchers may only sell one type of meat either beef or mutton. Similarly there are markets who deal v7ith only one type of meat. Such organised big meat markets are the dominant phenomenon in big cities.

70 The gnoups'^ like basket and matmakers are a notable part of rural industrial organisation. They make baskets and mats from local grass and plants.

Kories (weavers) are really a very interesting group in Sind. They are hardv/orking and very much traditional although the government has tried to fit them into factories in the hope that the more organ• ised nature of work xvould produce a more regular and even flow of production, :iut most groups did not agree, They are proud of their art.

The groups noted above have some craft skills and passing on of these skills is generally a family matter.

Now and for millenia this type of internal family apprenticeship and tendency for each skilled group to intermarry and keep the mysteries of its craft to itself is strong. This is typical of relatively unchanging sedentary communities unaffected by large scale, i.e. international trade or specialization.

In medieval Europe a similar situation was breaking down in the 13th or 15th century because of trade impact. In Sind such impact is only recent and measured in decades.

In some ways different from the craft groups exemplified above are the Professional groups. Here also distinctiveness and solidarity are marked much more so than in equivalent occupation groups in Britain,and almost strong enough to give to each a feeling of socio-economic community rather than

71 merely a sense of having occupation in common. The first group within this class may be termed business• men ranging from the great industrialists and factory proprietors etc., to small shopkeepers and vendors. These are essentially organisers of labour and cap• ital. At the lowest level this class includes types of the completely traditional middleman. He may have a small permanent shop in a small town and there forms part of the bazar complex examined ,in Chapter V.

In the rural areas the vendors or the periodically moving stall-owner is more typical. The community group sense felt by this group is rather like that observed in those people in England who move from market-town xvith "cheapjack" stock. At the other extreme there are the large-scale business tycoons who much as in Japan tend to form a close community in which socio-economic ties are very close. It is commonly said that in the whole of Pakistan there are some 15 or l6 families who control the great bulk of the country's resources and wealth analogous to the "thousand families" of Iran.

In Sind the development of Karachi is the most significant point here. Now the individualism of modern commerce is tending to conflict with group and family ties but is not yet absolutely triumphant.

After the business, group there are other notable groups like doctors or hakeems and advocates and also government servants. Each group has a tendency to iiiix within its own circle due to the similarity, in the lines of occupations, although the degree of the social grouping is variable according to the nature

72 of the place. Also in Sind there are such groups who are advocates and doctors or government servants and teachers on one side rAiCl on the other hand they are also engaged in cultivation. In such situations it is obvious that in spite of the differences in occupation social grouping is increased as a result of the similarity in other economic aspects. The system of ranking also affects the nature of the group. It not only exists in the government servants and business group but the professionally trained groups like advocates and doctors and hakeems can be distinguished on the basis of their merits and ability.

The taking of undue advantage of position and status is a common phenomenon in various groups. The manager of the advocates will sometimes receive economic gains like free supply of Ghee (clarified butter) from the client and if he belongs to business occupation then clothes or other articles. Government servants dealing with the public also get various concessions and gains.

On the whole the society is very much influenced by the different ranks and subranks. In Sind even the lov/est group of menials have various degrees of ranks which depend on the size of the establishment or the institution employing them. The menials constitute the economically and socially lowest group and member• ship of this group is hereditary. These people clean the toilets and houses and roads and are concerned with matters which to Muslim and Hindu alike are polluting to man. Therefore they themselves are held to be unclean and polluting others - this is irrespective

73 of religion. The economic structure of the commun• ities is also influenced by the factors of mobility. These vary considerably because in traditional society in the normal course, people do not move. In the business and craft groups when the prospects of income are minimised due to heavy competition ^then people move away. But in spite of that there are also such groups who do not move whether they get profit or not and are content whatever they get. A change of place, blaming only fate, to them is an impossible separation from their traditional environment. Such tradional views are losing their force and adverse circumstances not only compel migration from place to place but also result in the change of the occupation (see Appendix 7)* In this way the traditional economic solidarity is being broken.

In professional various groups popularity and good reputation no doubt makes them more static. But some• times adverse economic factors are so dominant that they affect both the nature of work and the location of the place. The writer has for example observed instances of such youths who were trained as advocates but when they did not find any reasonable profit they not only moved from home but also changed their occup• ation.

The economic groups without specific skill are often migratory and very flexible in their occupation. In these communities we find Chowkidars, private servants, cooks, cleaners etc. in this short note on some aspects of the non- rural occupations it has been stressed how social forces rather than individual profit motives affect Sindli. life. Statistical proof of this and of the strength of social groups and sub-groups is impossible to give but all the observational data confirms how these characteristics bring urban life into a surpris• ingly close correspondence to rural social values.

75 CiiAPTiiJK IV

Appendix 7•

The Case Study - An Artisan Family Karachi •

Abdul Kareem family is a typical instance of the change of occupation as a result of economic circumstances. Cultivation in Shikarpur was the occupation of the feunily but the land area was not sufficient to maintain the family because of frequent subdivisions between the heirs. Under such situations » the family members abandoned the idea of cultivation and they made a jump from the occupation of agric• ulture to the occupation of artisans during World War II. This was an entirely new experience and at first there was some difficulty in learning a trade. There were very good prospects for artisan work in Shikarpur as India was not divided and Hindus of Shikarpur who were very rich used to invest a lot of money in manufacturing and building construc• tion. With partition the situation became very adverse because the Hindu financial groups left for India. This change not only left a vacuum in the economy of Shikarpur but also damaged the prospects for the artisans. These unavoidable circumstances forced the family to migrate to Karachi which was greatly being affected by refugee migration. Some of them settled in shanty town huts and some rented a small house. Now the family, having first changed occupation and then change

Population and Settlement

In this chapter a brief note on the population is followed by a study of a few aspects of settlement character which are relevant both to the preceding chapters dealing with occupational groupings and the following chapters which explore the main elements in the social organisation of life in Sind.

The population of Sind including Karachi district is as follows:- (1961)

Hyderabad division 32,90,956 Khairpur division 31*33,712 Karachi district 20,44,0^4

The increase in the size of Karachi is quite significant as it shov/s an increase of 80.3^ over the population of 1951 v/hile the increase in Hyder• abad and IChairpur division is 30.3/'' and 26.9/0 respect• ively. The district of Karachi had the highest

increase of 1,399.7/^ during I9OI-I96I a rise in the population from 1,36,297 to 20,44,044. The interest- ing point which can be noted here is that Karachi /in l843^had a size of population of about l4 thousand persons. In I878 as we noted earlier the independent Sind railway was extended in order to link up Punjab and this contributed to the expansion of Karachi which boomed in its various functions. Later on the selection of Karachi as the first national capital greatly affected its nature. The demographic character considerably changed as a result of migration movements of refugees. Refugees affected not only Karachi but the whole of Sind. Their main concentration was in urban areas 77 SIND - DENSITY OF POPULATION, 1961

t -N-

25 50 Miles PERSONS PER _l I SQUARE MILE

ABOVE 1500 ^3 101 "250 y/\ 251-500 26 - 100 and also in the irrigated parts of Sind. Sind on the whole was greatly affected these incomers. According to i'ir. Tayyeb "At one tim^/refugees accounted for nearly half the population of Sind and posed a serious political threat to/^Sindis". On the other extreme the bulk of the Hindu Sindi population left for India (Appendix 8).

The Hindu migrants from Sind included not only the agricultural> class >but there, were also many shop keepers, government servants and members of some learned professions etc. The most significant group was of Hindu merchants, the main dealers in grain, cotton, oil, seeds. Another important class was the "Sindi workis" a well known community of Lohana traders which emerged from early development as a group of hawkers.

Now Hindu castes are in the form of a small minority engaged in trade and some in other occupations. According to the Census of I96I their number was .'124,803 in Hyderabad division and in Khairpur division 52,767• The distribution of population axid settlement in Sind very clearly reflects the nature of the land of Sind as outlined in Chapter I, Since Sind is predorainently an agricultural region ^and since some 80^ of its pop• ulation consisting 6,413,668 is rural then the direct controls of physical environment are obvious. Wherever there is water then there is some livelihood possibility while v?hen water is scarce the number of inhabitants is small. The lowest densities of population and settle• ment are found in the eastern desert and the western arid hills (Map 8).

In Thatta where irrigated areais are relatively small

78 MAP 9. SIND - URBAN CENTRES

o > 10,000 population 5,000-10,000 "

A /"JACOBABAB ' O . KANDHKOT, O -N-

Garhiyasin oGhotJsi,^ SHAHDADKOT Rajfo SUKKUR oPano / KAMBARO De-^o LARKANA ROHmyR GothKHAIRPUR Mehor Gam bat f / N DADU "Tharushah

O / MORO I

NAWABSHAH- \ \ © \\ \ ^Mehrabpursinjhoro

©TANDO ADAM 'oMatiari \\ Tando Jam ©MIRPURKHAS KOTRI O ® l»- —> 'Vw TANDO ALLAHYAR / IT^RABAD I o/Umerkol KARACH TANDO D'^ri" Jamesabad M.KHAN^ \ o THATTA © Jhudo MAIL I Sujawal 0 \ Badin

I

Main Physical Regions Miles r • • -; the densities are low. On the other hand in the irrigated Indus lowlands of Hyderabad and Sukkur densities are high.

In the lowland of Indus there are concentrated 43 settlements which may be classified as truly urban ranging from Hyderabad with 434,537 inhabitants to small towns of more than 5,000 population, this ... excluding Karachi which may be regarded as a national rather than a regional phenomenon (see Appendix 9 and Map 9). A meaningful map of the distribution of the ac,tual«,nuojb.e.r,—of rural settlement is impossible to prepare since the official classification does not correspond to the actual physical settlements. As in Turkey the official classification of settlements tendito group actual villages, hamlets and homesteads in centres of administrative status. The census of 1961 and other sources thus list a total of approx• imately 5033 settlements. In matters of small settlement the population figures include Tandoo^, villages and hamlets.

An examination of the real differentiation in rural settlement throws a considerable light on the characteristics of Sindi society and economy. The first unit MB shall examine is the village. For the whole of the known history of Sind the unit, of settle• ment would appear to be the nucleated village. Archaeological investigation e.g. at Kotdiji and Nara valley, shows that for millenia sedentary agriculture in the best watered areas led to the growth of settle• ment of the nucleated type. Waneck B. Pithawalla maintains that such settlements first appeared in the lower Indus valley in riparian tracts and in lajid

79 covered by grass vegetation. Khan Nasser stresses the strength of physical controls and maintains that nucleated villages emerged wherever soil and water supply made cultivation possible.

Today the dominant settlements remain the villages. They considerably differ in their size and pattern sometimes with compact blocks of various sizes and in other cases non-contiguous houses. The villages are generally more compact in the floodplains of Indus.

The archetype of the village is purely residential in the sense that there will be no proper organisation of shops or offices and there may be small scrub-fenced compounds and livestock stabling attached to some houses. In each house complex v/ill live generally a farming family but there are also the dwellings of a artisans working onj^small scale. Richer farmers and those owning land generally have mud plastered adobe brick residences but these may be interspersed with straw and grass wattle huts. A typical lay out of a house would be of a single storied single line of rooms used for sleeping and cooking etc., facing across a small compound, a small cattle shed, the whole built of mud bricks.

Social organisation within such villages varies greatly. For example in the case of Mari Communities derived from Baluch immigrants in many aspects of life they are indistinguishable from other Sindis• but in their villages there is a headman with traditionally defined duties and responsibilities rather than the more usual council of elders. The Memons have simi-

80 larly a village organised structure with certain variations. There are also characteristic structures in the case of the Rajor and Bhuttos (see Chapter VI D Family).

At a different level on a smaller scale there is the distinct element of the Gothro. The Gothro consists of a few huts of farmers forming small irregular clusters surrounded by fences and acacia hedges. This hut or hamlet unit, sometimes consisting of two families, some• times three or more, would seem to have been of recent development and is primarily associated with land fragmentation. From observation and from other studies it would appear that there occurs a certain amount of family fission on the occasion of death of the landowning family patriarch. The extended family may then disintegrate into its component family units. Some of these tend to° move to their inherited lands remote from the villages and nexv hamlets or Gothro appear. This is a continuous and dynamic process so that some Gothro, if sited on road junctions or any other favourable place, may in turn grow^ into villages and in turn some villages may decline. We may quote here as example Goth Haji Watto in Hyderabad district which developed into a village during the last fifteen years.

At the other extreme we find the Tandoo (an advanced large village type in rural settlement) which is essentially a villa:':ve but for a variety of reasons including nodality and resource advantage has developed greater variety and range of functions than is normal.

81 In the case of the Tandoo commerce and business may weaken the village community spirit but in a typical village kinship and castes produce a social unity. In the Tandoo the presence of activity of the sort minifested in workshops, shops etc., together with larger size, produces a near urban economic community in which there may exist quite separately the smaller socio-economic and kinship communities.

Finally the special case of some small settle• ments must be mentioned, viz., the hamlets of non- agricultural type which often exist on the periphery of urban centres but which are not urban themselves. In appearance such accretions may appear as small groups of shanty tovm huts inhabited by immigrants to the town, but in fact the people living in them are communities in -their own right. Five or six family groups may inhabit an equal number of round, one roomed huts built of temporary materials. Such groups may work as agricultural labourers in harvest time and live on a pseudo hunting and collecting basis hunting tortoises and frogs and small game.

In the traditional dwelling construction and lay• out reflect the mode of life. The timber and the straw huts are very simple, low living standard, one or two roomed shelters for sleeping eind little more. Primitive cots and simple rugs are the only furniture and the main fittings are the grain storage jars or "Gundi" cind the central hurricane lamp. At an even lower level of existence in town and country some people mainly of the menial class live x^ithout per• manent shelter, eating and sleeping wherever they can.

82 The adobe brick houses on the other hand vary in size and sophistication with the status and wealth of the ov/ner. A series of rooms open independently on to a closed compound in which there may also be the distinctive feature of the "Otak". This is a separate room or set of rooms and patio reserved exclusively for males. Male guests and kinsmen are entertained and lodged here in a fashion similar to the traditional use made of the "K&y oda", the village house in rural 'i^urkey. Chairs are kept for important guests and more than usual care is taken with the cots which are used for sitting as well as sleeping. Tenants may be received in the patio and government officials some• times use these facilities. At marriage and festivals and other ceremonies jugglers and musicians will enter• tain the males in the "Otak".

Their prime characteristics are first as status symbols to v/hich a great deal of wealth and energy are devoted, secondly, as retiring places for the men, very necessary in large extended families, and thirdly as neutral meeting places for superior and inferior e.g. here the barber may come to cut the hair of the land• owner. The Qjtak. is often built alongside the livestock stables and barns. An example of the scale of the otak is given below.

This is the property of a big landlord of Hirpurkhas He also runs a large farm. The otak is faiSty big and in some portions "Katcha" (unfired) bricks have been used alongside "Pucca" fired bricks. It contains 12 rooms and four verandas. On the south there are also very big courtyards. The otak has heavy cots and ctnide tables. Near to the otak there is a barn for the cattle.

83 The roof is partly made of straw. The barn has ik cows and buffalos. Some part of the area is used as a store house. The whole area covers almost half an acre.

When considering some of the a^^ects of occupations in and the economy of Sind it was noted that strong family, kinship and status ties were associated with occupation groups not only in the tradition governed countryside but also in the towns where economic and social transition has not yet resulted in the replace• ment of group identity by individualism.

^ } As one would therefore expect, the towns of Sind are urban in forms and functions which reflect social ^ characteristics peculiar to the region.

Populated Sind, essentially the lower Indus plains, differs greatly from the Punjab in the nature of the forms which have affected settlement. As earlier noted, the extreme nature of aridity in Sind, the late devebpment of large scale irrigation and the physiographic ajnd hydrographical controls of irrigation layout have limited the development.of agricultural settlement. It has also been the case with urban deve.Topment that until very recently develop• ment has been severely limited. Hyderabad, the only strictly large city after Karachi,' v^as an eighteenth century foundation and its importance derived from the relative success of its political function as capital of Sind. Karachi is essentially a city of the tv/entieth century and its growth during the last 80 years derives first from its function as a key for the Punjab and

8h MAP 10. SIND-AGRICULTURE a INDUSTRIES

JACOBABAD n A 0 A.

SUKKUR Cotton

Matches

O- Leother Ginning A O — Pottery

0 Cigarettes

€)- Metal Ware

Workshop SANGHAR

^- KARACHI )'

\ HYDERABAD 0 A • • THARPARKAR

0 25 50 MILES i_ later as capital, political and economic of West Pakistan. Nowhere else have natural resources or location, nodal or otherwise, or geopolitical forces brought into being fully urban settlement with functions remote from the values of country• side. Almost all toiirns in Sind therefore are essentially projections and extensions of rural activity, super market towns in fact. It is to an examination of some of these characteristics relevant to the Social geography of Sind that we must now turn, ^

First, there is the matter of degree of special• ization and socio-economic distinctiveness of towns.

As far as manufacturing industry is concerned Karachi is the only urban centre in Sind possessing a full range of installations. In Karachi one finds not only manufacture based on local resources and for local needs but also manufactures dependent on imports, national and regional, of raw materials. In the other towns of Sind manufacturing industry is almost wholly based on local resources and of these products derived from agriculture are supreme, in other words milling of grain and oil seeds, processing of cotton, and the processing of product* such as hides (see Map lO). The significance of these industries and of other, such as the manufacture of cement products, salt making and timber working, in the understanding of social geography of Sind is that this type of industrialisation only to a very small extent implies any revolution in the living habits of the people. As in Russia before I9OO industrialization mainly means the growth of work• shops and the ojntinuation of craft industry rather

85 than the mushrooming of factory industries and the development of a proleterian and managerial class. This of course is only true of the towns of Sind in a relative sense, relative to the fully industrialised cities o.f Western &trope. Within urban society specialization and individualism are growing but they are not fully developed. Therefore the differences which may be observed between as well as within tov/ns are mainly still of a traditional kind.

In Sukkur district the town of Sukkur is mainly important as a continuing exchange point between Sind and the northwest, Quetta and Afghanistan, and, to the north, the rest of Pakistan. Its trade is mainly in agricultural goods especially dry fruits and craft products.

Nawabshah town is predorainently a market town for a prosperous agricultural region which produces cotton, wheat and oil seeds on a commercial scale. To serve the flourishing agricultural hinterland markets and banking facilities are very v/ell developed, Larkana, Khairpur, , and Jlacobabad are similar regional centres whose main economic functions are based on their immediate agricitiltural hinterlands. In the case of Hyderabad the functions are predominently similar but larger in range of products handled, of services given and in the larger size of the supporting region.

It is not the purpose of this thesis to consider the order ranking of these towns although this would give some valuable information concerning the urban geography of Sind. The important points for this thesis is that ^^rith the exception of Karachi the degree of specialization developed is small and the importance

86 of socio-economic ties betv:een town and country is large. This is illustrated very clearly in the dominance of trade and the nature of the trade.

lit was earlier noted that some large villages have developed a f^ew non-agricultural characteristics, those villages in bind"called Tandooa- \ Here one may find small groups of shops, perhaps ten to fifteen in number selling vegetables, fertilizers, tea, sugar, and other small necessaries. A hakeem will dispense herbal medicines. ^

There is usually a small tea shop, a flour mill to which villagers may bring their grain and some small workshops and stalls of arisans. In the Tandoo the range of goods and the size of the stock in these small shops is very limited.

The towns' trade is based on the supply of the less frequently required and the more expensive goods. Here the similarity with different order retail functions in Britain for example is clear. This similarity is however not complete. Since the greatest part of the population is rural and since the range of goods required is restricted then the trade of the toim does not differ greatly in type from that of the village. In the case of the Otak we saw that greater wealth resulted in expenditure in ways which were not fundamentally diff• erent from that of the poorer farmer. Changes in income^ from observations, can be seen not to produce any sig• nificant difference in the demand for types of food and furnishing or even personal clothing and adornment.

87 There is very little widespread demand for con• sumer durables such as refrigerators and cars etc. There are a variety of reasons for this including the basic one of poverty but among these reasons remains the strength of traditional values such as illustrated by Otak. Among the professional and educated classes such as government officials and service officers then one can note different status symbols affecting expend• iture and consumption but because such groups form a minority of the population their effect on the form and pattern of urban activity is restricted.

What we find therefore in most towns is the dom• inance of the bazars. Broadly speaking a bazar can be described as a major shopping area with concentrated trading, but such a descrip;bion does not. fully describe the bazar as an observable ortlfunctional phenomenon.

In bazars as a whole are to be seen different physical forms of retail outlet including the relatively large and sophisticated stores of permanent construction with display windows and specialized serving inside, smaller permanent shops of brick adobe and wood down to the small mobile cart shops or stores. Only in the case of Karachi is there a sufficiently large degree of economic sophistication to have brought into being a homogeneous and clearly defined area of sophisticated shops. In Elphinstone street, wide and straight, there ate found such stores and specialised shops carrying a large range of high value goods including garments and jewellery. In form this reflects the street function in serving the relatively wealthy fully urbanised part of the city population. As in any western central

88 business district the relationship between retailers and shop owners is purely economic and individualistic « In other bazars e.g. in Karachi, Kawabshah and Hyderabad such homogeneity can not be observed. In general a bazar will have a variety of shops serving the basic needs of the people of either one or several districts.

In some cases a whole bazar may be specialized such as Mochi Gali which is devoted to the sale and the manufacture of shoes and Jama cloth market devoted ko clothes. Such specialization is however of a different order to that observed in the heart of Elphinstone street, it is rather the logical extreme of the group• ing together of like interest which one finds in non specialized bazars. In the non specialised bazars then one finds general variety and local special groupings so that the fruit sellers, shoe shops, grain sellers, carpenters etc., will tend to concentrate, each group in its own precinct. The second characteristic which these two types of bazars have in common is that the shops also have workshops. What one therefore sees in the complicated alleyways of Bori bazar in Karachi or in the circular lay-out Chakra bazar of Nawabshah are areas of combined craft industries (i.e. not factories) and retail trade.

This basic characteristic is true of the traditional bazars of Asia and parts of Africa and Latin America. As well as this variety of grouping there is often a great variety of building construction while the mobile cart stores usually selling vegetables and fruits add to the apparent complexity. . Differences in prices as between the different elements in the bazars reflect

89 the nature of the market served. Wear the wealthy residential areas in a few large cities and, for instance, near the diplomatic and business quarters of^^ Karachi e.g. Housing society, Mohammod Ali Society, ; shops tend to be more specialized and the prices for comparable products are also much higher than in bazars. In the bazars proper the grouping of the shop and xifork- shop of like type ensures a certain amount of uniformity of price.

It must be noted however that with the increase in demand for imported goods and periodic restrictions on imported goods and raw materials, black market trading sometimes pushes up prices in some establish• ment selling e.g. motor tyres, cloth and pharmaceuticals. Here again, as in the case of shops and stalls localized around the numerous cinemas, then we findindividual responses to the special opportunities. For oui? purpose the important point here is that in the traditional towns the traditional bazars are not only collections of economic individualists but of certain small communities who make as well as sell craft goods and services. As we noted in Chapter IV there are strong non-economic links in such occupation groups and their relationships contain kinship, language, religion and status elements.

In rural Sind one can stJ. 11 find a progression of traditional settlement characteristics. In the smallest type Gothro life is agricultural and society consists of a few family groups. In the village life is dominated by agriculture but there will be som^ non-farming inhab• itants e.g. small artisans. The number of family groups is larger and there will be some variety in occupational and status communities. When one comes to the Tandoos

90 and small town level the number of farming families is proportionately less but it is not yet possible to devise a numerical threshold at which functional changes become significant.

As Emrys Jones has pointed out in "Town and Cities", English mining villages may have only between 10 eiiid; kO'jl) of employed population working in mining*.

The significant point is that while the large villages and small towns may have considerable reput• ation* for cottage industries and these may each be associated with occupational and status groups, the social matrices important to these communities and to their component families are the same as those which exist in agriculture communities and families. In this sense therefore only in a very few settlements of this size is a pre-industrial society being changed.

Lastly there are the few large towns and cities in which the increase in the range of function is accompanied by addition to the still dominant tradi• tional social matrices of new values particularly associated with individualist enterprize and a small degree of conservatism. Thus in Karachi in particular and in Hyderabad etc., to a lesser extent we find factory industry and craft industry, non specialist and specialist bazars together with central business districts, shops and offices. These are physical manifestations of the co-existence in those cities of both old and new Sindi.. Societies.

91 The question again emerges as to whether there is suffic.ie.n.t_CDntinuity in this process of change for the Sindd community as a whole to remain distinct and with a surviving homogenity of social matrices or whether the present situation vrill produce a sophistic• ated urban society divorced from a stagnating tradional country side.

As yet the physical separation of residential groups mainly develops on traditional lines. As with the bazar units it is normal for occupational and status groups to live in zones peculiar to themselves. This can be recognised in village as well as in town and areal separation of caste/class also exists. From observation it has been noted that in Tharparkar region one may find in rural areas separate "Mohallas" (districts in English sense) for each caste in the same village. In the Tandootype village a definite tendency prevails for leading castes to be settled in a specified area of the Tandooin order to preserve their own ident• ification. In the towns of Sind there are Mohallas which are termed Hindu Mohallas. This apparent fragmentation is also typical of Indian villages but in Sind it is rather of different order.

In Nawabshah one can observe this carried into modern terms with the grouping of some residences of advocates and other professional men. In the following chapter we turn to a consideration of those characteris• tics of Sindi . society which will either prove flexible or provide continuity or will on some occasion break and produce new cleavages betvjeen communitfes; the traits which lie beneath the forms of village and of towns.

92 CHAPTER V

Appendix 8

Displaced Persons, Census of India 1951.

V/est and Central India.

Bombay 2,77,267 Saurashtra 50,102 Kutch 10,216 Madhya Pradesh 75,288 Madhya Baharat 37,332 Hyderabad 2,325 Bhopal 11,775 Vindhya Pradesh 11,217 Rajastan 1,03,88k A jraer 46,91^

93 CHAPTER V

Appendix 9

Population of towns in Sind. (size greater than 5,000 excluding Karachi). Census of Pakistan I96I.

Hyderabad ^,3^,537 Sukkur 1,03,216 Mirpurkhas 60,86l Shikarpui? 53,910 Larkana 48,008 Nawabshah ^5,651 Jacobabad 35,278 Khairpur 3h,lhk TandoAdam 31,2^6 Shadadpur 21,537 Kotri 20,262 Dadu 19,1^^2 Rorhi 19,072 Tando Allahyar 17,273 Tando Mohd Khan 15,536 Shahdadkot 15,0^3 Thatta 12,786 Kandhkot 12,253 Kambar 12,090 Hala 11,956 Matli 10,^96 Sanghar 10,153 Moro 10,019 Badah 8,9l6

9^ Pirjo Goth 8,39^* Sinjhoro 7,388 Ratodero 7,201 Tando Jam 7,1^^9 Ghotki 6,956 Jhudo 6,950 Mehrabpur 6,862 Digri 6,853 Bad in 6,387 Matiari 6,306 Pano Akil 6,282 Jamesabad 6,027 Umerkot 5,878 Gambat 5,646 Tharoo Shah 5,358 Mehar 5,150 Sujawal 5,086 Kunri 5,005

Garhi Yasin 5,184

95 SECTION III

96 CHAPTER VX A

The Sindi Community

The Sindi community is a' group of people who speak the bindi language, v/ear bindi dress, have Sindi customs and a Sindi way of life. Nevertheless we see that in spite of an overriding unity there are diversities for example on the basis of religion and region, moreover in urban communities the social out• look is different from that of rural communities.

In the field of religion is well illustrated the different levels on \rtiich communities of different scales exist. For example within the Hindu population there exist the distinct groups of Thakurs, Lohanas, and Hrahmins while among Muslims there are, on the same scale, the groups of Rajors, Dahri, Mari, nemons, Bhutto's etc. These in the case of the windu groups may be referred to as castes in the normal English sense while in the Muslim case they essentially reflect social bonds linking members of a group who have the same lineage, often the same surname and ideally these are endogamous groups.

nevertheless in so far as endogamy goes with birth status distinction in the Hindu groups and a certain distinction of occupation and status is associated with family based endogamy on the Muslim side, all these groups in practice exist on similar levels of distinct• ness at which differences between Hindus and Muslims are less important than caste/class endogamous group differences.

97 Each of the groups is in fact a community within a larger community. Most of this section of the thesis is devoted to an examination of the characteristics of this larger community and of the cross-cleavages within it and some of these characteristics and cleavages can be related to the preceding section on economic organ• isation. Occupation becomes of more than purely economic importance and we can properly talk not only of the agricultural i. community but of a carpenter community, silver smith, and goldsmith communities, a barber community and even a government servants community. Clearly the degree of distinctiveness varies from group to group but the tendency towards group identification and self-identification is very strong.

So that while true caste is dying except as a f distinction between menials and others, the^re continues '^"^rdsper the distinction^ between groups of different interest these^distinction^ emphasised by the continuing strength of endogamy within these small community groups. The position is changing and endogamy is weaker than in the past and the whole matter must also be regarded as in a transition phase;. . At one level then there exists these groups, at another level there exists the Sindiiv community within which a variety of social matrices operate such as language, the joint family system, and Panchayat, entertainments, diet, customs, etc., etc., and it is these we must now turn. Quot• ations and specific examples are derived from personal field investigation.

98 Cf^IAFTER VI B

Religion

In Sind, both at present and for centuries past follovrers of Hinduism and of Islam have lived together in the region not only with natural toleration but with considerable similarities in their attitude to religion and in their religious practices notwith• standing the fundamental theological differences between the two creeds.

In general one can say that the attitude of Sindlis. as a whole toward religion is not speculative, philosophical or fanatical. Submissiveness, faith and devotion are the main elements which characterise their religious life.

The influence of the Fir (saint) in Sind is more apparent than, and traditionally it is rather of a different character to, that found in other regions of West Pakistan.

The Pir effectively can do no wrong and even when clear cases of abuse of their position by the Pirs such as kidnapping or abduction are known then such wrongs are attributed to other forces.

To the Sindti'- his saint or pir is sacred and as in the case of lineage is both the ultimate target in abusive arguments and the most savagely revenged of any offence. Such is the influence of the Pirs that government itself feels hesitation in taking steps against them.

99 As an example of the degree of power and veneration which is held by pir one may quote from one interview with Ahmad Husain Khan Rajor in the district Mirpurkhas.

The Rajor Caste has its own particular saints the chief of which in the 19^0's was Pir Pagaro. During . World War II he disappeared and since it was held that this was the result of government action, a rebellion broke out among the Rajors. A descendent of Pir-V Pagaro Pir Sikander Ali Shah has had his and his for• bear's political status now recognised by the present government and has been given a seat of pov/er and jurisdiction (called "Gadi" in local terms) at Firjogot in Khairpur district.

It is in the attitude to the dead saints that the strength of underlying mysticism particularly appears. In many regions of the world, in Christian Santiago de Compostela, in Durham and in Islamic Turkey and Iran shrines of saints have all been given'mystical respect but in Sind this appears in a more extreme and striking form than an3n'/here else. The saints' tombs become centres of symbolic significance particularly identi• fied with the Sindr^*... and felt by them to be symbolic of their own distinctiveness.

Every year people of all kind flock to the tombs of their particular saints to do homage but there is also a constant stream of those who seek help. The tombs themselves are usually covered with embroidered clothes and must be approached with ceremonial greet• ings by the "Suali" (the man who requests help). The tomb of the great saint of Sind, Lai Shahbaz for example is approached by Muslims with the following words:

100

"Oh Qalander (saint) you are a spiritual man of this world. I request that you fulfill ray wishes and remove my difficulties. In your honour I will distri• bute food to the needy people".

Significantly, much the same invocation is used by Hindus who worship the same saint (at the same shrine) under the name of Bhartari Raja. Shah AB.tf.ul Lateef is another significant personality who v/as the great sage of 18th century. The other great saint who is held in the great mystic regard by both Hindus and Muslims is Zindah Pir. All through Sind runs this same regional unity under the overlying superficial diversity. At the shrines are also held fairs "mela" the most important of which are listed below.

Fair of Bhit Shah Bhit Shah Mela of Sachal Sarmast Mela Guro Gareeb Das Gouspur Fair Shah Khair Uddin Jilani Sukkur Fair FazuxShah Jilani Bagargi Fair Shah Maqsud Rorhi Fair Haji Shah Ismail Kambar Jamman Shah Mela Mirpurrkhas Cheti Chand Mela Guddu Bunder Lai Shahbaz Sevran

Sindis ; sing mystic songs at those melas and pray for their prosperity; barren women also gathered in large numbers and various ritual ceremonies are done on these tombs.

101 f^stical respect is generally not only paid by Sindis to their own pirs but also to those of others, both alive and dead. Since in the countryside oral tradition is strongest some confusion can become attached to the location of the graves of the pirs. Since also desecration of such graves is a fearsome matter most people play for safety. Under fi.andi trees for instance one may find graves marked by cloth festooned branches or several clay jugs. Credulity may also be taken advantage of by "Bhopos", self styled holy men who will play on the fears and beliefs of illiterate and poorer groups and create new mystical legends for their own advantage. Graves can then become the nucleii of new local mysticism which particularly affect v/omenfolk.

Sindis' common traits are also found in their beliefs in supernatural elements and they seem to have ^ inherited most of the superstitions of the human race. . Their life has become very much restricted as a result of these beliefs, examples of which follow.

The presence ofasweeper on the road while on the way to work is sufficient to disturb men's minds'fi^- be.cause it is considered to be an inauspicious sign for the families. When a Sindi finds that his right . eye is throbbing he feels happy and it is supposed to be a sign of good luck. But the throbbing of the left eye creates apprehension in his mind as bad luck, awaits him. The meeting with a corpse if one is going for some work is a happy sign and similarly a hiccough is a good sign since it means that a friend is remem• bering. There are certain beliefs about certain days.

102 Some days are lucky and some are unlucky. Belief in dreams is a general phenomenon and old people are relied upon. Sindis.. also believe in the significance of the action of the birds and animals for their future. The hooting of an owl is very bad and the calling of partridge is a good sign in the forenoon on the left and is bad on the right. If the donkey brays from the left side at a time of departure on a journey this is a good omen. Ghosts are also an important element in the supernatural element in Sindt . life. In general such belief's are strongest among the more ignorant country•• people and this may serve to illustrate the difference in status between the Pirs (saints) and Bhopos. To generalize one may say that the more devout and thoughtful people, if troubled by a belief that ghosts and spirits are haunting them will most often consult and pray to a Pir whose advice will generally be religious in character and will stress religious devotion. The more ignorant masses are more easily affected by beliefs of ghostly powers and spirit possession and they will tend to consult Bhopos. The Bhopos rely more on pseudomagic, at an African witch doctor level, e.g. after the reading of some mantras ; the Bhopo will question the spirit through the medium of person affected. It is believed in this crude psycho-analysis that the answers and the explanation ' will come from the spirit, all this being carried out in a potion-induced mediumistic trance into which the patient has fallen. The magic power of the Bhopos staff is then used to beat the spirits out of the patient.

In Sindi.' communities the spirits of the dead are believed to haunt particular places such as graveyards,

103 cemeteries, ruined houses and places where accidents have happened. These are"earth bound spirits very like man in some respects: they require food and are said to be fond of f;ruits; they v/ear clothes obtained through magic and possess sexual desires. Although not normally visible they can sometimes be seen under proper conditions takin'g the form of generally old women and children but distinguished by four instead of five fingers. iheir powers are evil, not good.

The main difference in this field betv/een Muslim and Hindus is that in addition Muslims believe in Jinnies who are quite distinct from man and God and for whose existence there is Quranic authority v/hile in the case of Hindus the personification of gods, in the form of animals, is extended to produce a group of animal spirits. This goes still further in the Pipal tree v/hich is regarded by the Hindus as an abode of spirits. This is not the place to consider the elements in and the characteristics of Hinduism and islam. There are clear and fundamental doctrinal differences and in Sind the different communities will observe their separate festivals independent of each other and there is of course the difference in status of two religions resulting from the fact that Pakistan is officially an Islamic state therefore the main Muslim festivals are the national holidays while those of Hindus are observed by themselves only.

xn this examination of a few aspects of religion and mystical belief it is possible to note some features significant to Si'ndi society. First the toleration characteristic of Islam exists both generally

10k at the official level and in the predominant rural life. It is striking to observe how the strains of partition, involving as it did, death and the displacement of people have not broken that measure of unity which exists in the basic pattern of life in Sind. Secondly the common elements of mysticism are closely associated themselves with the forces of family, kinship and caste/endogamy.

In conclusion we can say that as with other aspects of the society there are many matrices as well as lines of cleavage. Sind unlike e.g. Punjab has never been a major area of historic religious conflict. Relatively isolated and with material life based on the over-whelming importance of slowly developing village agriculture, the society of Sind as a whole has tended towards toleration and a certain amount of homogeneity. This together with other aspects such as language etc., helps to make Sind distinct from other regions.

105 CHAPTER VI C

Language

At several points in this thesis the factor of language as one of the factors which gives Sind a regional distinctiveness has already been mentioned.

In West Pakistan as in East Pakistan and in India the distribution and use of language is very complex.

In this note no attempt is made to explore fully the matter of language as such it being considered more relevant here merely to note a few of the salient points relevant to Sindi.'. society. Matters of termin• ology, nomenclature etc., are more properly associated with the main topics of other chapters.

According to the last census I96I the population of people using the Sindi' language as their mother tongue was estimated as following in the districts of Sind:-

Karachi district 8.55^

Hyderabad district 62,35'^ Dadu district 78.38fo Tharparkar district 71.85f= Sanghar district 57.17^ Thatta district 93.h9'fo Sukkur district 78»6.a5b: Jacobabad 56.^2^3 Khairpur 79.71% Nawab Shah 72.84% Larkana 79.94%

106 The predominance of Sindi lang-uage is clear from the above table while it may be further illus• trated from the fact that in Sind 300,000 persons are literate in Sindi. As Uilber points out "In the former province of Sind including ii-hairpur three times as many persons claim to be literate in Sindi as in Urdu''making this the only area of West Pakistan vihere literacy in a vernacular language exceeds that in Urdu." The non-Sindi character of Karachi is also clearly demonstrated from the above table; this is due to very many facts chief among which is the impact of partition. iVany Hindu Sindis who were the bulk of the population of liarachi migrated to India and muslim migrants from India who claim Urdu as their mother tong-ue replaced them. xhe census figure for I96I now shows that 53.9?^' of the aarachi population claim Urdu as mother tongue.

In Sind the numerical trend in usage of Sindi language cannot be precisely stated. In the first place changing administrative boundries make it difficult to compare the regions through time, secondly since independence and particularly during the time that Karachi was the capital of Sind a con• siderable influx of people from India and various parts of Pakistan with their mother tongue Urdu, Punjabi, Pashto, Baluchi, Bengali, came not only to Karachi but also to all the cities of Pakistan. ihis was partly a change of the type v/hich we associate with urbanization and in this sense this is a normal element in socio-economic changes which are affecting Sind as a whole. But it was also in part a temporary trend and connected with the administrative status of the capital. Again records do not allow us .to separate these observable differences. ihirdly by far most important were the results of the large scale trans-

107 ference of the population during partition. The basic facts are here as follo\irs.

A large number of Hindus left Sind for India and this generally represented a nett loss to Sindi.' speakers. On the other hand there was a considerable emigration of Muslims from India most of them were not SindiL speakers as we noted above. The writer's family is an example of this later movement. Again there ai'e no records of what has developed from this situation and its investigation v/ould be a full time topic of research. However, from personal observa• tions the following points can be noted. First, the relatively small numbers of migrants which settled in the country side seem to have rapidly acquired a working knowledge and use of Sindii. This was clearly necessary for the survival of individuals and small groups. Secondly the gery much larger number of the refugees who moved to the large towns were affected in a more complex way. In some cases refugees arrived as disyilaced co'nmunities and, also given the endogamous element in occupation grouping,specially at non-prof• essional levels, clung together and kept their own group identities. In this effort the clinging to the pre-partition language.was and is important specially to the older generation.

In those urban cases where conmunities v/ere small or where the status of occupation and class was relat• ively higher then the assimilation of these groups has proceeded to a much greater extent. Again from personal experience the writer can quote typical cases of children of such refugees deliberately being sent

108 to schools where Sindi.'. was taught as a main subject. The conscious selection of a school is of course in itself an indication that the family concerned were of relatively high status.

To some extent therefore the question of changes in language used becomes associated with social mobility and status level. Schematically one might differentiate between the largest group of unskilled labourers whose response to transference would be a conservative cling• ing to the remaining part of their old culture especially language*and, at the other extreme, a partly cosmopolitan landowning or professional family aware of the need for adapting to a new situation, setting fairly high store on education and with already vireakened traditional family ties would beCiaine a bilingual group.

It is earlier mentioned that compared with other regions of Pakistan, Sind has not been very greatly affected by major population movements throughout history, in a relative sense, Although various changes affecting language have of cotxrse occured. r'or Sind the impact of partition^^cauaed migration has been very great." : relatively I'or. instance "to the effect on Punjab. When one realises that this impact has been occuring at the same time as urbanization and indus• trialization then the point made earlierythat Sind is in part it least in a state of abnormal flux is further emphasised. It is yet too early to measure the effect @n lan,^age but from observation one can say that the Sindli!. language is adopting loan words and a few other elements from Urdu etc., and as with society as a whole then something new may emerge. Conversely Sindli'.

109 remains Igast changed in the country-side from migration movement.

Note; Up to very recent times the Sindi'. language has been one of the regionally unifying forces with strong roots in the past. Generally it is regarded as originating from "Prakrit", an early dialect of Sanskrit. It is closely related to Landha or Western Punjabi and is grouped v/ith Dardic the language found in Swat state.

The other notable features of this language are the use of prenominal suffixes on a wide scale and its irregular past participles of verbs. Every word ends with a vowel and its affection for double consonants is also noticeable.

In general the conjugation of Sindi . verbs are associated with Hindi and other languages but the distinctive characteristics of Sindi.". cein be seen in its formation of tenses through participle of verbs. The use of the present participle to form the future indicative is another distinct character of the language. Unlike Hindi the past conditional tense is not used.

Loan words from Arabic and Persian are widely used in Sindi;.

Like many other Indo Aryan languages the use of compound verbs completives is quite common. The other element is the dominant use of the passive voice.

110 Regional factors similar to other aspects of Sind also affect its language which one can find in various structures of dialects. Siraiki, Datki, Kachchhi are quite prominent. Siraiki element exists in Sindi'. language towards the region of upper Sind and Datki and Kachhi are noted in the eastern desert including Cutch area. There is a strong influence on these dialects by Rajastani and Gujrati; more primitive still is the dialect of Hari.

On the basis of the above points it is easy to conclude that the Sindi . Icuiguage is a reflection of the country's geography and history.

Ill CHAPTER VI D.

The Family

The typical form of the family in Sind rural organisation is the joint family system. It is an extended kin group including husband and wife and their married and unmarried sons and daughters. It may have also widowed sisters etnd aunts. The notable feature of this unit is this that it is a fluctuating body which expands by birth and decreases by death and migration. The joint family is rein• forced by religion and custom and has certain char• acteristics which are linked with the social life of Sind.

The structure of the family is male-orientated and lineal descent is the main criterion of deciding membership in the family. Mostly it is reckoned through the male line except in the community named "od" xirhere. matriarchy exists. The lineage consists of all persons who are related by blood through the male line. Sindis are very conscious of their family tree. The lineage is the chief factor for getting support and security in the family and rights of inheritence and transfers of family titles are determined by lineage.

. The kinship terms are the co-ordinating links between the members of the family.

Tradi-fionally males are categorised inherently as occupying a s.uperior position.

112 The eldest member of the family is the sux^erior authority of the organisation. He is the main linlc in the chain unifying the components of the family and is the protector of its well being. He is entitled to receive a complete and blind obedience from the members of his family. He has the privilege of deciding matters of family issue and his presence is essential at the time of various ritual ceremonies. The head tries to develop cooperation and mutual under• standing amongst the members of the family.

An axial relationship in Sindi' feunilies exists " between father and the sons, mainly with the eldest son, who traditionally inherits the duties of the father. On the death of the head, the duties are devolved to his eldest son provided he is of sound mind and has no defect in his lineage. Like his father he represents the family in the community and Panchayat. He is supposed to be responsible for all ceremonial obligations. The transfer of power takes place in a traditional way. According to traditions Pagri (turban) is passed on in the presence of elderly persons and responsible family members as a traditional recognition of the transference of duties.

Women are a secondary part of the family organ• isation. Men are the dominant sex being considered more wise and responsible. (There is a belief held by the males in the countryside that women have their sense in their left heel).

The position of the women is determined in society by her qualities for child procreation and by the position of her husband and also her father. The head's wife is entitled to a great respect from the

113 ' other xfomenfoik. In the joint family the position of the wife of the head is very important. She keeps the purse of the family and also controls the kitchen, sanitation of the house etc.

The inheritonce of the family property is guided by Muslim and Hindu law and according to traditional rules of Sind in the communities. Hindus invariably divide the property between all the claimants according to Hindu law. The girls who in Hindu societies are not entitled to get share*in the property of their father receive a good dowry.

In Muslim families girls receive a share from the father's property. But in some big families and in some other groups the woman is kept completely deprived of her share and even her name is not entered in the property papers.

Sindi . family values take into account the distin• ctive personality traits of members. Personal ability is appreciated and people have also some sense of humour and ready .wit. Field investigation in Nawabshah for example brought to light the special status given to the younger brother of Shahbaz Mari who is specially reputed for his good sense of humour, for relating interesting Sindx' stories and in playing the "Ek-Tara" (musical instrument). (The older brother has a very good reputation for shooting). In another faimily of this community Haq Nawaz is famous in reciting film songs. In a Bhutto family at Karachi Abdul Haq knows very good Sindi: and people on most of the evenings

llh come to his house to listen to SindV . legends and Sindi-:'. Kafi. His father was very skilled in reciting poetry in Sindii. Everywhere individuals of this kind have considerable local reputations even in urbanised communities. Nobility in character and tolerance in temperament are the favourite virtues. Bad characters are disowned by their families and are quoted as warnings by the parents when their children do any wrong. A young man who is addicted to wine and fond of gambling and prostitution is treated as a bad example.

A real example may be given of the situation which can arise. Abdul^Gaffar of "Karachi had three sons one of whom was 'irreclaimablyjgiven to indulgence with wine and prostitutes. Both within the family and in the community this son became a notorious example of behaviour to be. avoided. At one extreme therefore we find certain virtues exalted, particularly those which strengthen the traditional family unit. Given the strains found within the normal extended family then individualis* and personal status seeking can be held in low regard ^^rhile tolerance, acceptance of the "status quo" and belief in and practice of traditional "mores" are equated with nobility. The Sindd'. community as a traditional entity is also best served by these virtues. At the other extreme, ignoble, "anti-social" behaviour becomes defined as those things which weaken the family - inter-relationships, psychologically as well as materially eind this may lead to the rejection of the individual by the family and by extension, also by Sindi.-. community itself.

The social life of the families is based upon certain family rules. The aged persons get priority

115 over the younger and very considerable effort is taken to preserve the dignity and the nobility of the family. In spite of quarrels and dissensions the people live together in the same house, under the same roof. Vlhen bad feelings exist individuals may not speak with each other but parents and various ceremonies generally try to unite them. The factors which give birth to these rifts and quarrels between women-folk most of the time are very petty matters. Quarrels between the males are on the other hand some• times very serious. Factionalism exists both in rural and urban families. Land possession is one of the main elements in economic and social status in the agriculture groups and disputes concerning it there• fore mostly result in -tension, conflict and even murder.

In such communities disputes and aggression break out in special forms. Any challenge to authority meets with violent reaction and given the importance of lineage and status then abuse and bad language often centres on challenging purity of lineage particularly through abusing mothers and sisters.

The notable thing which is marked in Sindi'. people is the consciousness of common nationality. In rural areas most families use the term Sindi'. in the sense of nation. This conception is the dominant unifying link in joining them in spite of very many religious and cultural cleavages. In order to show the feelings of being Sind-i' they speak their own language and demonstrate their culture even when in an alien cultural environment.

11^ The people are in the habit of strengthening their collective self-identification in conve^ation and comment v/hen they talk in their family functions. This collective self-identification is particularly strong in rural areas and country-folk viiAl take this to the point of stressing differences between their community and urban cosmopolitanism. A few rural statements made to the writer are listed here:-

"¥e are sincere and simple and we can not under• stand the diplomatic and selfish attitudes of urban people. They never say anything clearly, their manners are very peculiar and they are losing all the cultural treasure of their forefathers".

"Look at their women they are bold and brave and have no shyness".

This critical attitude is of course indicative of the transition through which Sindi' life is passing and it is the danger which is mostly frequently stressed.

Every family is recognised in its "bradri". Bradri is counted as a whole group of those who jslaim a common ancestor. Its members co-operate with each other and the act of any one family within the bradri or clan reflects on the others.

I i Such groups assemble for marriage, death and other V social occasions. In a rather broad sense bradri are » the kindred of the wife and husband. According to some informants bradri can be a group of people who are not kin but have a similarity in their occupations such as the Tonga Wallah community, gold smiths and

ri7 silver smiths, artisan etc.

This exemplifies the point made in Section II v/here it was noted that economic occupation communities have also non-economic ties. Here we see hovi kinship ties can be diluted and broadened to cover economic ties.

The feelings of collective honour and collective security are the main elements of bradri. Quarrels with non bradri members raise the feelings of collective honour and the group consciousness among bradri members becomes very active if other members are badly treated by non-bradri members. In family gatherings the participation of bradri members adds prestige in the eyes of the strangers. Members who are not in good terms within the bradri are criticised.

"Panchayat" is also "a very important institution to rural families. The members of bradri compose the Panchayat by mutual consultation. Panchayat is a rural organisation of justice which controls groups of families. The main job of the panchayat is to formulate certain rules for the members of the community and families are expected to abide by these rules. It settles disputes and acts as censor of morals of its members. Generally only serious matters are referred to Panchayat while petty matyars of the families are settled by the respective heads of the families. Gambling and drinking and serious property matters are decided in Panchayat. In order to establish the moral position of the members of the community it enforces certain types of social sanction

118 and moral pressure. Sometimes it has the power to repeal or change customs. It can fix punishments for not conforming to the social rules.

In TandooAdam people report there was a custom of the burial of dead children of Hindus instead of cremation but Panchayat put an end to this. When any matter becomes too intractable to settle in i^anchayat it is presented to the pirs (saints) whose decision nobody challenges.

In Sind the composition of Panchayat varies according to the arrangement of the communities. In Rajor Muslim communities people select by mutual consent an influential and popular man as their* head who looks after their interests. In Memons and Maris elections are held in a more organised way and this was also found in Hindu groups although this was disturbed by partition. In some communities the Panchayat may select a sub-committee which settles disputes, this is called a board of Amins.

Vfhen there is an^ outbreak of serious epidemicii like small pox or any other troubles like flood-, locust attacks or major thefts the Panchayat may assume further administrative emd quasi-legal functions for the common benefit of the community and applies moral pressure on the members and its part in the political field is also significant. V/hen there is any com• plaint against any government official the matter is decided by the head of the ^^anchayat. At the time of political elections the Panchayat will usually form a common policy of. support and members will .agree to vote in unity.

119 Since the family is important then the status of non-family members also has significance Eind formal attitudes to guests have become highly developed.

The attitudejof Sindis towards tjie guests are hospitabl^e and they treat them as a blessing of God. The respect which a Sindi gives to his guests is very typical. As soon as the guest arrives all the members of the family usually go to receive him. in some cases it is common for them to send their conveyance which is either horse or camel.

Everybody including the head avoids chaffing talk especially when the guest is a stranger and is- formal - ivith them. His bed, his food is superior to/'dthersV .During the night, for the entertainment of thre guest, they sometimes sing songs accompanied by the local instruments.

The Sindi way of greeting a fellov/ bindi is 0 also very typical. In such situations they use their colloquial expression:

Welcome ^J.'f

How-are lybu .'' o A> cJ'^^ Quite well iV\^t3L Mercy of God ^J^\y^ In form this is a special characteristic of Sind which distinguishes it with other communities. Some• times one to one and a half hours can be spent on enquiring only about the welfare of each other.

in these and other forms of etiquette the family asserts its strength in respecting the "alien" character of the visitor. 120. We have already noted in earlier chapters that recent changes in economic opportunity have occured notably with the growth of Karachi and that these . changes affect the nature of the family structure.

From personal observation one can state that in the towns where professional and modern urban employQ ment has been growing rapidly there is a trend towards nuclear type and single person families althqughp in >a=> Q ^^-1 — ' ^ p, big cit^-'like Karachi and Hyderabad T>|ha^family individ• ualism is increasing rapidly. The extended family in towns is breaking down but ,'still \ts hold is ^strong in the country-side. ^ .

In towns, greater diversity of activity produces at all levels greater demands for a greater range of occupations. Administrative, clerical and educational opportunities are novr increasingly available for well educated men and women in their 20*s.

These are by training least inclined to accept all aspects of traditional family respect and authority relationships and they nox^ have opportunities of becoming self-reliant and leaving the family. At the same time factory industry and service industries are demanding employees and producing employment opportunities even at the menial levels.

For the employees a neiir regularity and new loyal• ties are demanded which to a varying extent, conflict with traditional family behaviour patteras..

Life becomes more impersonal and less parochial and it is the family which takes the main impact of

121 these forces and which suffers the greatest social

strain.

At the end of this chapter the extent to which urbanization is affecting the district of Sind is shown in Appendix 10. Still there is a great dominance of rural population as the figures indicate in Appendix 11. Urbanization is affecting the demographic situation not only in Sind but also the whole of West Pakistan Province.is-being—affe'ctedV As a result of^that the population in the important towns is increasing and the less significant towns ) showing a itjrend of decentralization. There are 18 ^ .... . , J towns in West Pakistan which show a decrease in their numbers of 1951 to I96I. This phenomenon is however, not very significant in Sind relatively to other towns of West Pakistan. In Sind only Garhi Yasin town in Sukkur district shows a decrease of T^.

There are also groups who have moved due to other reasons such as factionalism or social and economic grounds and as a result of the pressure of the parents.

Ecological factors also lead to migration, though this is a seasonal phenomenon and the bulk of the

population movet back. But there are groups who, attracted by the city life, do not go back and work as labourers and in some other categories. The seas• onal mobility takes place' from desert and hilly areas to barrage areas when there is no rain. In Nawabshah district the seasonal migration from across the river to the district is strongest in the days of monsoons in the hill region, Sewhan. The people bring their cattle for food and fodder. Their women and children work in the houses and also in the farms. In Larkana

122 district a few nomadic groups of families in winter come down from the hills in the interior of the district and work on the land and factories up till the end of the season. These tendencies are creating erosion in the structure of the rural families.

In urban areas there are joint families but in modern families trend is towards nuclearization. A young and educated man does not like the idea of joint family. Such groups not only disfavour the joint family but also dislike the idea of very many children. They think that many children are a handicap to the economic prosperity of the family.

Of other factors which are bringing change amongst them are changes affecting individual status i.e. the economic independence of the adult son which has diminished the authoritarian control of the father. There are also marked changes in the status of the women. Western education and modernization are bringing 1 a change in the mental set up of the married couple and the relationship betv/een women and men is becoming something like partnership. The traditional barriers are losing their force. In cosmopolitan families the women are also moving to the academic fields, side by side with the men. In urban communities women are doctors, women are nurses and women are teachers and they are even members of the offical staff of the government in big cities.

In Sind both in rural and urban areas there are also such families who follow every commEind of prophet Mohammod and do not give .any liberty to the women.

123 "Pardah" (veil) is the normal condition of life for a Airoman, in many families she is confined in the house and her job is to look after the house and procreation of children. Pardah is a way of achiev• ing prestige. It symbolises the traditional dignity and piety of the family.

The urban families do not have the Panchayat institution and people are directly linked up v/ithp secular courts. In rural areas also the bonds of Panchayat are being loosened. By the effect of partition Hindu Panchayat organisation was especially badly affected. In Jacobabad specially in settled areas the authority of some Sardars (heads) has been split up and the people want direct government prot• ection. Education is also giving a set back to Panchayat as educated minds will not accept.its bondage. There are therefore many diversities to be seen in this transitional stage in the intellectual and physical set up of the families. The families in urban communities are educated and an intelligentsia is appearing in urban areas. The womenfolk are sophisticated ajid have academic abilities. But in rural communities the families are mostly illiterate and simple in their mental attitudes.

The outlook of the rural families is not broad being much concerned with the necessities of life. The people are honest in both urban and rural families and always ready to help their neighbours. But in big cities like Karachi and Hyderabad one can easily find such family groups who are different in their nature and less co-operative. In spite of being of the same caste and in close residential proximity they only occasionally meet xtfith each other.

124 In urban cosmopolitan families the hospitality traits are also changing. The rural traditional etiquettes are fading and new hospitable etiquettes are emerging. The people do not show the typical rural formalities which their forefather used to shov7 to the guest nor has the guest any symbolic significance.

In traditional bind therefore one might say that the family, the lineage group, the clan are the strong points of the society. All attitudes to non-members of these groups are coloured by the fact that they are in this sense alien. In urban societies individuals rather than groups are fighting for self identification. Therefore etiquettes and formalities now become professionally rather than family based.

In the later examination of kinship these problems of personal relationship are considered.

Within the family one must note some points concer• ning the position of the children. As noted esaas±s=s^latr«r the relationship betv/een siblings has its own rules. Between parents and children one finds the normal informal relationships but also certain formal arrange• ments. Very young children are given all the protection possible. The differences in the treatment between boys and girls appear from birth, the boys being reared more carefully. But there are some variations in the families where the system of the purchase of the bride exists.

Young girls are held in high regard in Sind. Among Sind-i' Hindus a young girl is often termed Niani or Devi -

125 equal to one hundred BrahiTiins. Virginity is of

great importance particularly for the performance of Hindu rites.

Sons on the other hand early become associated with the father's occupation. In most of the families the trend of the parents is to train the child in their traditional occupations in rural Sind. Even in urban educated sections the parents have the same bent of mind. But there are families.that now believe children should adopt a different line of career.

In general it has been observed that with the growth in urbanization there has come greater diversity in the ways of treating children v/hether in punishment, training or degree of independence given them. The behaviour of the children themselves indicates the great and growing difference betv/een traditional agricultural and craft industrial countryside and the fe\f large towns.

126 CHAPTER VI D.

Appendix 10

Relative registered increase in urbanization in Sind 1961 over 1951-

Hyderabad 76. 5hfo Nawabshah 161.02^0 Larkana 68,72^0

Dadu 67.63'j'o Sukkur 45fo Sanghar 92.20^0

Karachi 79i> Jacobabad 133.55/° Khairpur 110.675^

Source - Population Census of Pakistan 196I - District Census Reports,

127 CHAPTER VI D.

Appendix 11

Distribution of rural and urban population in Sind by District Census Report I96I.

Karachi urban rural

Jacobabad urban rural

89.oi Dadu urban rural

11.3% 88.7fo Sanghar urban rural 16.hi 83.6^ Nawabshah urban rural 12.9% 87.1?^ Larkana urban rural 16.25"^ 83.8^

128 Sukkur urban rural

Hyderabad urban rural ho.oi> 60.050 Khairpur urban rural

9.8fo 90.2fo Thatta urban rural

S.8fo 9^.2f' Tharparkar urban rural 12.9^ 87.lfo

Source - Census of Pakistan Population I96I, Vol, 3., Ministry of Home and Kashraeer Affairs Government of Pakistan, Karachi.

129 CJtiAPTliJH VI E.

Kinship

In the society of Sind each person has his own status in the family, a status based on his or her place in the degree of kinship. Each degree of kinship has its particular title and each person will recognise certain kin names. These are passed on by the parents and when a Sinda.'. child reaches the age of two or three it is taught kin names. Through the parents children also learn whom they should obey, xirho are friends, who are enemies and from whom property may be inherited. V/hen kindred, patrilineal and matrilineal, come to see the children then as a custom they bring either sweetmeats or toys and children are told of the particular things that each relative has brought. The child will be questioned about who has brought these toys, sweetmeats and clothes and he, in his •way, learns the kin relationships. In the region of Sind many observations have been made of this practice.

The first kin terms which the child learns are ^. ]-^^' related]^to mother and father, grandfather and grand• mother. As the child lives very close to these relatives in a joint family system these relatives leave a deep impression of their own status. V/hen children go with their mothers to their mother's father's house they are told that this house belongs to their Nano. The house of Dado is the house of their father. Similarly a girl belongs to certain homes, the household of her parents and the household of her husband's father.

130 For the child a knowledge of its social and family status becomes early established, status in lineage and bradri terms become known and economic status, e.g. right to Jaid etc., are also implanted.

The Sindi \ kinship system creates a unifying network of rights and duties. These rights and duties prevail in order of kinship status in the kinship organisation. It is the traditional and as well as religious duty of the parents to look after their children. The rights and duties of Sindl children v/ith their parents are governed by certain basic rules of Sindi.: society. In Sind the father is a dominating figure and children are supposed to give blind obedience to him. A fearful image of the father is developed in their minds by their mothers. The use of foul language and chaffing talk or argument v/ith the father is unthinkable, The father has the right to punish or even to deprive of material benefits any child at fault. The slightest threat of the mother that she will put the matter before the father is an effective weapon to keep a recalcitrant child away from mischief. The father rarely actually punishes the children but whenever he does it is very severe.

The children have also certain rights over the father and his property. The father is responsible for their maintenance. The mother's duty mainly is the care of their health and the safe-guarding of their moral development. Feeding the child is also her duty. When children are ill or suffer any physical disability the role of the mother becomes very dominant as fathers mostly live out of the house r

131 end are busy with economic pursuits. The elder sister and grandmothers greatly help the mother. Very early in life the child learns to act on the traditional norm of giving respect to the parents. Frequent physical punishment by the mother is customary. When the parents are dead the duties of looking after young children devolve upon the kindred.

The orphan children are looked after by their agnates. The responsibility of father goes to the uncle and duties of mother partly are covered by the elder sisters and uncle's wife. Sometimes when the grandparents are alive and are not very old they take the responsibility. In a joint family these respon• sibilities are seldom neglected. Collectively it is expected from every kin according to his degree of relationship to look after the child. The main duty of the womenfolk is to check his activities inside the house and take care of his dress^^-ati- food, cleaning etc. Outside the house the uncles and elder brothers are responsible. If there is no proper guidance available from agnatic relatives the children are passed to the maternal relatives. It is noted that the children, even when they are supervised by their agnates, also get some sort of indirect supervision by the maternal kinfolfc, on the occasion for example of illness and on festivals their visits become very frequent. They sometime check the activities of agnates when they find some sort of slackness or injustice.

However, generally every one tries to give the same sympathies to the child which it xvould get from parents.

132 In polygamous households the children in Sind can suffer in many ways. Under the supervision of step-mothers the child gets very unfriendly and apathetic treatment. The unfriendly attitude of step-mothers is more or less a traditional belief in Sind'i . Society and the concept of a step mother is one of a cruel personality. The term "step-mother^' some• times is used in the form of curse. When Sind'i". mothers are annoyed with their children they curse them: "God will keep you under the thumb of a step• mother. "

When the wives are in conflict over apparent favouritism shown by the husband then severe strains result, the situation is exacerbated in the household and each mfe looks to the well being of her own children.

During field\'/ork one example of what can happen \fa.s observed. In the family of an artisan in Karachi, one of the sons whose mother had died was accused by the step-mother of making sexual advances to her and also of kidnapping a cousin. This was carried to the point where police investigation resulted, only to prove the boy's innocence. In most cases observed of this sort of behaviour the step-mother tended to show hypocritical affection for the child in front of the father and effecting criticism by means of rumour.

The significance of this behaviour pattern is similar to that which we attached, to behaviour with strangers and guests. A child deprived of one or both parent|^is to some extent abnormal and alien to the ideal family, it therefore tends to become a scapegoat to a certain extent, to be depraved of full

133 family membership and also likely to be the loser in the economic struggle for survival.

The hu*sband and wife relationship is also very traditional; the husband is authoritarian and the wife is by duty docile and subordinate.

All the major decisions are made by the husbands and it is the duty of the wife to be loyal and sub• missive whatever the husband may be. The husband has the right to watch and control .the activities and the ways of his wife and when there is any fault her husband can check and punish while the wife has no right to criticise him openly. Quarrels between husband and wife seldom grow to the point where divorce comes into practice. Women are so submissive that in spite of knowing tha-t their husbands are behaving wrongly they remain silent. In one village, Chiho, the Tirriter found a typical case where a man had illicit relations v/ith a woman of a low caste. One of themonbers of bradri found out about this and the news became public throughout the village. Womenfolk later told people that when the wife was asked about it she already knew but could do nothing about it. A wife dare not reply to abuse or beating. As a result a sterotyped saying among some women is "Men are not worthy to be trusted".

It is strange that such attitudes can exist along with stable and strong family groups. This is so essentially because of the helplessness of the v/omen once married in tradition based communities. When a woman marries she knov/s and is told by her parents anC^ advisers that her links with her lineage are now

13^ severed and that her husband's home is all that she

has and that his family is now hers. If she leaves her husband in traditional Sind not only her status is affected but that of her parents and the v;hole family. jJivorce is worse than death. i-iOreover it is regarded a blessing for a woman to die before her husband since to be a widow is to be a curse and lost. A woman therefore must submit and accept the existing status in and of the family.

Mow far this extreme attitude derives from purely Muslim attitudes and how far the similar and traditionally even more extreme Hindu attitudes (e.g. Suttee) are responsible can not be clearly determined.

In a joint family system like the Sindi type, married life for some years is passed under a parental roof and the proximity of other persons limit the privacy of married couples at night. The presence of mother and father and lanmarried sisters sometimes prevents the development of any frankness between young husband and wife. At the beginning the couple remains very shy, e.specially the wife who frequently feigns complete ignorance about sex and grows up in am inhib• iting atmosphere with limited responsibility.

The interpersonal relationship between a young wife and her mother-in-law is very important. Generally the mother-in-law tries to impose her authority over the daughter-in-law and she is entitled to respect from her. The instnictions of the parents and the traditional norms compel the younger woman to remain loyal.

135 The mother-in-law in rural society of Sind is the main part of the familial organisation. She commands great respect in the women of bradri. The daughter-in-law is ontinually reminded of any faults and her family becomes a normal target for criticism.

The wives of brothers living in the same house also are jealous of each other and exploit the dominance of the mother-in-law during family quarrels.

The relation between father-in-law and son-in-law is of formality and respect. The son-in-law respects him like a father and the father-in-law treats him like a son and is more formal relatively to his own sons.

He tries to maintain solidarity between his sons and son-in-law and he generally never lets quarrels grow betv/een them. The father of a young wife will avoid as far as possible any intervention on her behalf and will only intervene very diplomatically. If hov/ever any major issue arises then it may be brought up to the Panchayat or the lav/ courts.

The contact between the siblings is very close. In dealing with each other they have to follow certain traditional rules. The brothers should bepolite with sisters and the older brother has the authority over his brothers and sisters.

The concept of male dominance exists in the mind of brothers and they try to show their authority over their sisters and keep strict eye over them. I have observed many attitudes of such strict dominations. One is quoted here:-

136 :, One nine year old boy v/as enquiring from his thirteen year old sister in a village, Pat in Dadu district, why she was gazing at men from the window. When he was not satisfied \^ith her explanation then he threatened her that/she did that in future he would kill her. Girls are brought up to be thus submissive to their brothers. The elder sisters are categorised in a respect relationship to their younger brothsrs and they use a kinship term for them. Younger sisters are also expected to call their elder sisters by their kin names.

Sisters take deep interest in the prospective brides of their brothers and try to keep friendly terms before and after marriage and they play a ritual role in certain marriage ceremonies at the marriages of their brothers. One instance of this sort of ritual role of sisters is quoted here from a Mari settled agricultural family, Rab Nawaz Mari Got, Nawabshah district. In this family after the Nikah (finalis- ation of marriage in Muslims) there is a custom that the bride and bridfigroora sit face to face with each other and the corners of the clothes of the bride and bridegroom are tied together. The sister of the bridegroom catches up the joint and demands revrard from the brother.

The ritual role of the mother's brother even in a patriarchal society is significant, for example at the time of the marriage of sister's children he represents his sister in the kainship organisation (see Chapter VII A Marriage). The role of grand• parents in the kinship organisation is also very significant. Most of the grandparents are allowed to behave with great informality with their grand• children.

137 The uncle is the next important relation after the father and is given fatherlike status. The aunt (maternal and paternal) has a status equivalent to that of a mother.

Outside the kin family there is an extension of kin type etiquettes which leads to recognition of classificatory relations. In classificatory relat• ionships the friend of the mother is treated like an aunt and the friend of the father has the status of an uncle. Moral norms are also maintained to the strangers with special regard being given to old persons, old women and young girls.

It will be noted throughout that some superficially similar relationships exist in very different societies, e.g. in Britain,

In Sind these features are however emphasised to a much greater degree, status and respectrelationship* are both more formal and more regular, This is a measure of the\family identity^force,which is^very s'trong, « Within these kinship characteristics of Sind there are also variations. For instance there are societies where husband and wife have a relationship of equality. Such societies one can find in intell- ectualised urban groups. The impact of female education is changing the social status of women. In those modern families where both men and women are earning members of the family the question of husband domination does not arise. The sophisticated families in big cities of Sind disovm the rural attitude of men dictating to their wives. Not only is the position

138 of the married women being chai3gecl but also unmarried girls are being treated in a different way.

With education, the new opportunities and changing faDiily attitudes girls are no longer chattels to be given in marriage but can and do find their ov/n husbands In large towns the trend of intermarriages between rich and poor is increasing.

As a result of western education in some families there are instances of the western usage of surnames being adopted and women are called by reference to their husband by titles such as Mrs. Ali, Mrs. Memon etc. There are also cases where v/ives have left their husbands by their ovm consent in modern sophisticated families and there are cases of disloyalty.

Even in rural communities there are families where women do not have inferior positions as where the system of bride purchase prevails (see Chapter VII B). Women do not have inferior positions in the Hindu educated class in Lohanas of Shikarpur and Sukkur and have certain amount of liberty. In some regions of upper Sind the wife is the main active element in family organisation and for instance settles marriage alliances for sons and daughters.

Other variations in kinship terminology are associated with the settlement iri Sind. of groups from India, Baluchistan, Bengal, Punjab etc. In many cases such groups are in some ways indistinguishable from the indigenous Sindis,-,, using ssss for example the Sind'i; language, but keeping their own kinship-relation• ship terms. Variations of various kinds tend to fall into one or other of the classes illustrated above.

139 Urbanization, sophistication and education are eroding the traditional family and kinship structures and only slowly are new structures emerging. The question here is similar to that posed elsewhere and is as yet un• answerable. Will the new urban society appearing merely become another cosmopolitan western type or will there come from cultural change and exchange a new and different social matrix ov/ing something to tradition, something to western behaviour but differing from both. One indicator what will happen may be the fate of the kinship terminology,

Sind has a traditional kinship organisation v/hich is composed of diverse elements. This organisation has its oxm nomenclatures which are precise and necessary in order to establish kinship identities. The terms which are used in agnatic kin are different to those which are used for maternal kin. When a Sindii'. speaks to his father's brother he says Chacha or Kaka. but when he speaks to his mother's brother he says Mamo or Mama, Similar terms are used to describe the female relatives of agnatic-descent and maternal descent. The variations in the kin names are noticeable not only as occuring between agnatic and maternal relatives but also every relative has a separate kin name. As we can see from the list at the end of this chapter the kin name of father is different from the name of f ath-^^.r' s brother and kin name of mother is different from mother's sister and the same type of variations occur in other kin names. It is also noted that one kin may have several kin terms. Thus for mother's brother in some fcmiilies he is called Mama and in some groups Mamo.

iko Similarly the kin term for the mother's sister is Masi and in some families becomes Mussi. The kin term for the father is Aboo and for the mother is Mau and in some feunilies father is Baba and mother is Ama.

It may be noted also that classificatory relatives sometimes are called by the same kin name used for close kin. As we see the mother's female friend is called Ama (a kin term for mother) and a father's friend is called by the kin name of uncle, .Chacha.

There are also differences in the terms of address and in the terms of reference. Words like Patri (daughter) Putu (son) Poti (grand-daughter) sre examples of such terms of references.

Parents show their affection in_;childhdod' by using the affectionate diminutive as in many other societies. In this way we find Abdu from Abdullah and Rab instead of Rab Nawaz etc. Most particularly associated with some African and Asian societies v;e may find that husbands do not use the name of their wives but rather call them by reference to the name of a child i.e. "mother of Xifives may also speak to their husband in analogous terms.

Examples of the formal kin-names are given at the end of this chapter. What is important is their function and its strength. Here, as with family and family stranger protocols, the purpose is to identify each individual partly by positively expressing his or her position v:ithin a kin-ship, partly by negatively putting others normally outside such a group. The practical concept of kin relationship involves help given between kindred and usually such things are not

Ikl expected by the non kin or the remote kin. Respect and regard status prevails according to the position of the man in the ladder of kinship. But sometimes the age factors change the degree of respect relation• ship as in the case of an uncle or aunt v/ho may be just equal in age to nepheiirs and nieces and are then considered in the capacity of father and mother.

When v/e put this kinship structure in the context not only of family but also of community, cultural and occupational then we see how well-knit for purpose of identity and survival traditional life has developed. In Sind v/e find the changes in this situation to a lesser extent than in the Punjab where cultural and social clash has been greater while in these areas of West Pakistan where life remains tribal and village based i.e. Baluchistan etc., population and settlement is so dispersed and fragmented by the effects of nomadic pastoralism and the diversity of terrain that there is less homogeneous strength thab in the more uniform lower Indus valley.

142 CHAPTER VI E

Appendix 12

Kinship nomenclature normal Variants from UoPo India Sindi terms a

Pa Babo Aboo, Piu Abba, Bap

Fa-Pa Dado Dada

Pa-Pa-Pa Para-dado Par-dada

Mo-Pa Nano Nana

Mo-Pa-Pa Para-nsuio Par-nana

Pa-Br

(a) elder Kako Taia

(b) younger Caco, chacha Chacha

Mo-Br Mamo Mamoo

Mo Mau, Ama Ammi, Booa, Ma Amma

Mo-Mo Nani Nani

Mo-Fa-^o Para-nani Par-nani

Fa-Mo Dadi Dadi

Fa-Fa-Mo Para-Dadi Par-Dadi

Fa-Si Puphi Phuphi

Mo-Si Masi Khala

Br Bhau, Dada, Ada Bhai

Fa-Br-So Sautu Chachera Bhai

Pa-Si-So Puphatu Phupizad Bhai

Si-So Bhanejo Bhanja

So-So Poto Pot a So-So-So Para-Poto Parpota Da-So-So Para-dohito Par-navasa

Da Dhiu, Dhia.Niani Beti, Larki

Br-Da Bhaiti Bahtiji

Si-Da Bhaneji Bahanj i

Da-Da Dohiti Navasi

Da-Da-Da Para-dohiti Par navasl

So-Da Poti Poti

So-So-Da Para-Poti Parpoti

Pa-Si-Hu Puphadu Phoopa

Hu-Fa Sahuro Susur

Mo-Si-Hu Masadu Khaloo

Mo-Br-Wi Mami Mammi

Hu-Mo Sasu Sas

¥i-Mo Sasu Sas

Hu Bhataru, Charavaro Sohar

MudsUf Ghotu

¥i-Pa Sahuro Susura Hu-Br

elder Jethu Jeth

younger DerUf Gauro Devar

Sis-Hu Bhenivio Bahanoi

Wi-Br Sale Sala

Wi Bah, Zal Bevi, Bahu

Hu-Si Ninana Nand SOCIAL ORGANISATION

AND

CUSTOMS

lh5 riato 8

i

4 CHAPTiiJit VII A

Marriage

In the preceding sections we have considered the main structural elements in community, kinship, and family. Marriage can'be considered in its relation• ship to those forces which form kinship and family groups, as well as in its own right possessing certain ceremonial and other characteristics. The social function of marriage clearly affects the organisation of marriage while cultural traits some of which are regional also play a part.

H First we should consider the organisation elements. In Sind'i . society marriages are arranged by the parents j^and marriages v;hich folloiir from individual initiative areyin the countryside at least, believed to be doomed to failure. At this point it should be noted that Pakistan is in a state of transition.

In the case of women's legal rights in reia=ti=on-^ sjiip to marriage etc., the state of Pakistan through the Family Law Ordinance has recognised that the traditional survival values of the past have become restrictive to change. ¥e have already seen that new economic opportunities particularly associated with urban growth have produced in some parts of the community a greater desire for individual freedom, this specially affecting v/omen. In Sind we there• fore find that for the majority of the population in which rural life is associated with a strength of tradition that the legal rights of the individual are now developing at an uneven rate.

Ih6 In general this chapter concerns itself mainly with the traditional elements of marriages. The arrangement of marriages is based upon some particular factors. First endogamy is strong and marriages tend, to be maintained within the caste/class groups. This is true among both Muslim and Hindus. Religion allows any Muslim to marry any other Muslim but in practice the long association of some families with particular occupations, status and even region has led to the cross linking of particular family group through many generations and it may be observed that other things being equal matches are mostly arranged between cousins, parallel cousin marriages being preferred.

Alliances are most desirable v/hen they maintain family pride and status. l/e have already noted that purity of lineage is one major element in deciding family pride and status along with economic consid• eration which because of the strength of endogamy in determining occupations also tend to be affected by lineage and kinship. A marriage v/hich links a "superior" family with an "inferior" family lov/ers the status of the superior family and sometimes both of the superior family and inferior family.

Among Muslims the restrictions on marriages with blood relationships are relatively few. There is a strict prohibition of marriage with one's own brother or sister and father's brother's/sister or mother's brother/sistor. Marriage between such kin xtfould be regarded as incest and this is often extended t.o cover the equivalent classificatory relationships earlier mentioned^, a.s-.weXJ^as-^bl-ood- reXa11 orrship^. Among

IU7 Hindus inter-marriage between blood relations to a degree of twelve generations (theoretically at least) is prohibited. There is also a system of totems which control intermarriages. With Hindus marriage as such is a sacrament vtfhile among Muslims it is a social and civil contract recognised by Islam as the only legitimate outlet for sexual need. While therefore in Sind there are some differences between Hindu and Muslim conceptions of marriage there exist in the traditional societies a great deal in common.

In both cases betrothal, as a formal ceremony is carried out between very young children. There is even the practice in some families to settle matrimonial alliances at the time of birth or even in the prenatal period, the reason for such urgency directly derived from the fear of not being able to make alliances at a later date and it also clarifies for all families within the same potential marriage group the rights and freedoms that are available.

This in turn can only be the results of fear of a family being forced into undesirable alliances or the non-iparriage of individuals. In traditional society non-marriage affects the status not only of individuals but also of the family. Thus in some illiterate Hindu groups an unmarried man who dies is given a marriage ceremony at death and cremation. The body of such an unmarried dead man being taken on the bier which is covered with red cloth (Khunhba) to the cremation ground with the sounds of drums. Associated with general attitudes with marriage are also specific attitudes to virginity and fertility. In many parts of Pakistan and India, as elsev/here, considerable importance is attached to virginity of unmarried girls and in Sind not only is the extra-or pre-marital loss of virginity a disgrace to the individual but also to the family and society. Here again we see that the over-riding consideration is survival of the family and the assoc• iated kinship relationship. The degree of segregation afforded to unmarried girls does appear to some extent to encouriage homosexualism among youths but this is less developed than in Pashto speaking areas.

Fertility is of course essential for family survival and both in choice of partner and ceremonies this aspect is stressed. Among the Memons as reported from Tando Jam the bridegroom after marriage will fill up the palm of his bride's hand with a quantity of dry "Tira" (sesamum) or rice, these cereals being considered to symbolize a male child. Once an alliance is decided then comes the betrothal ceremony essential to Hindu*and Muslims of Sind. Among Muslims the brides family will present a ring to the bridegroom's family in the presence of the guests. This will be reciprocated by gifts of clothes and ornaments while a "dopatta" (headcoverj is also kept over the head of the bride. The Mialla will pray for good will between the parties and sweet meats are distributed.

Among Hindus the parents of the girl villi send to the bridegroom's parent a tray of sugar candy and soitie money as a handsel of bride's dowry. V/hen these accepted then the betrothal is complete. There are many variations in the details of betrothal ceremony and on occasion of other festivities. But in Sind

lh9 as a whole betrothal is regarded not only as a binding contract but as a very important festivity.

The marriage itself is the culmination of affairs. A great deal of expense is incurred for a major family union. The rejoicing and the arrival of the guests marks the beginning of a week, prior to marriage, which is given up wholly to merry• making. For four days prior to the marriage day the bride remains secluded from all except some of her close kin this at the request of the women of the groom's family, this being a special Sindi' custom "V/enah" .

The other most important custom is the practice of "Lawn". It is universal to the whole of Sind; this consists in striking the head of both bride and bridegroom together by an old member of the family.

Ritual and ceremonial dress and symbolic flowers all have their parts in the preparation for the grooms procession. The bride similarly has ceremonial apparel. The marriage takes place at the bride's residence finalized in Hindus by a Brahmin and in Muslims by a Mulla. The Mulla will read the verses of Quran and will solemnize the marriage in an Islamic way. Associated with this also is the element of "Mehr". This is a sum of money agreed by the families, which becomes payable by the bridegroom to the bride if at a future date he divorces her. This is one of the few checks on male freedom. The dowry is a right to which the girl is entitled from her parents

150 and this generally includes traditional clothes, ornaments and certain gifts and sometimes cattle. In rich urban communities the dowry is more elaborate and includes less traditional and more modern items like watches, radio sets, cars etc.

The "bradri" members eind the guests give gifts as a token of economic as well as social relation• ship.

In low caste/status societies then" poverty tends to override match-making and dowry giving. Here one finds the quite different practice of charging a bride, price known as "Walwar" in e.g. Dadu and Nasirabad and "Lab" in Mari nomad comm• unities. Walwar which will vary from Rs.lOOO to Rs. 1500 is paid in advance whereas the Mari past- oralists will put a value on Lab of h6 to 80 sheep and goats plus some cash.

Amongst Hindus of Sind the details of cerem• onies are different. The Brahmin performs the symbolic "Horn" sacrifice by burning seeds and will recite religious verses. The bride and bridegroom perform four movements, the "Peheras". moving around the sacrificial fire with linked hands.

After the marriage ceremonies the bride will then go to the grooms home and become a part of his family. The position of women in the family and question of male authority have already been considered in Chapter VI D.

151 There is however one particular element which logically appears in this section. This is the matter of infidelity and divorce. In the case of divorce there is a striking differentiation between Hindu and Muslim communities of Sind. Divorce is not recognised by the Hindu religion even though desertion and separation may in fact occur; this is the essential justification for the old practice of Suttee. In Islam on the other hand divorce has always been recognised as valid in a religious sense. Normally both religion and social custom tend to prohibit divorce except on strong grounds, mainly infidelity on the part of the women. In practice this giwes rise, particularly in Sind where the traditional importance attached to the family is very strong,to conflict between two attitudes. If the family and kinship structure are essential matrices of society then lineage purity becomes a matter of strength and pride; "^^on^the: yK^ j3jther hand an accusation, true or othen^rise is an insult to the Tparental family of the v/omen concerned. Despite the fact that on marriage she strictly becomes a member of her husband's family, ties v/ith her parental family are not completely severed. The parental faitiily may frequently either intervene or give protection to a divorced woman, although in Sind intervention rarely develops into the blood feuds which wiolu'£d> frequently occur among Pathans. Exceptional are the settled Mari families where violence may often breakoout. This has been reported from Nawabshah, Larkana and other places. At the other extreme among the poorer groups where bride

152 purchase is practiced then divorce is more lightly accepted, such instances being reported in Dadu and Nasirabad.

In practice the attitude to divorce V^nost often can^be correlated with differences between socio- economic status of particular groups. Some families, usually relatively wealthy and sophistic- ated in village terms, set ^uch store by their pride of lineage that they will not acknov/ledge divorce or any reason for divorce as apjiying to themselves. On the other hand where traditional values have to some extent been eroded then secular divorce is recognised, as in the recent Family Law which gives the women not only greater protection against casual divorce but also gives her some positive rights as well as a claim for economic suppsrt.

Lastly there is the question of Polygamy. Polygamy in Islam is permissive under the strict attitude of equality. In Sind it is seldom observed. Its prevelance in Muslims vary considerably within Palcistan, i^rLthin socio-economic groups in Sind and only 1 IS common/m cases where men are rich and s^elf indulgent. Polygamy exists in both Hindus and Muslims but in Hindus it is now very seldom seen. Some cases are reported in Lohanas and Thakurs.

Lastly f the practice of remarriage by widov/s requirel'^at least a note. In Tharparkar district the marriage of v/idows is completely stop ped in Hindu grou]3s and mostly occurs in Muslims. On the whole, the degree of second marriaf^e of the women depends on the particular customs and the personality of individual families. In Kot Diji and Nara valley there are reports of the remarriage of Hindu widows and here this practice is associated with some social and moral obligation to support widov/s.

In Sind the strength of rural -tradition has resulted in the survival of custom and the attitudes noted above. Where however urbanization has been rapid then the institution of marriage is as v/ith others has had a change of status. Greater opport• unities and freedom for the individual has encouraged the spread of exogamous marriages. As the status of families changes in the new town based societies so too are changed the values adopted for family alliances

The Family Lav/ Ordinance both recognises the changes and need for further change.

The legal controls on divorce and the prohibition of Polygamy in the traditional sense and the legal banning of marriages of minors are all representative of significant social change as well as the intro• duction of secular law into new fields.

In Sind in particular the numerical predominance of the rural population implies that the traditional forces affecting marriage and other institutions remain strong. Under such conditions the status and practice of marriage will for most people have socio-economic as well as mystical-religious basis. The question of lineage, family status, self identification and group identification, both by the individual and by the family all these remain strong in the larger context of communal structure and religion.

15k Cf-lAPTi;:R VIx B

Birth

In this and succeeding section greater attention is turned to social customs and the relationship betxireen these and social structures.

In Sind the birth of children is regarded not only as giving personal satisfaction to parents but as a significant response to social and economic need, childlessness is regarded as a curse and a barren woman loses status in society. After the birth of a child a new social status is conferred on the new family.

Fertility among Muslims a=s^-wel-l as in Hindus is exalted and many rituals have been developed to try and ensure fertility. All this is a reflection of the fundamental need for ensuring family survival. This is to some degree present in all societies, but in the Sindi' society we have described its enormous importance•as reflected by the complicated rituals, beliefs and the taboos associated with birth. During pregnancy various controls are imposed on women's activities, i.e. they are not allowed to remain in the open moonlight especially during the period-of moon eclipse and dietary restrictions are imposed. A pregnant woman may not lift loads lest the unborn child" might pick up deformities. At the time of birth restrictions are more extreme. Any one who is believed to have the evil eye may not enter the house and sometimes onions are hung in the house in order to keep out evil. No male or unmarried girls

155 may enter the female apartments, and among some Hindu families the time of birth is sometimes kept a secret from non-members of the family. Amulets and sometimes money are tied to the mother and prayers are offered. At the birth self- trained midwives will officiate in rural areas, these possessing not only experience but also believed to have certain magical powers. On birth evil is avoided by the disposing of the placenta by burial, sometimes in the area of the house or sometimes by throwing in a river. Newly born children are widely believed in Sind to be holy and pure. They are in some sense unv;ordly creatures who have brought their destiny with them on birth. This destiny can be seen on the child's forehead. Nevertheless amulets are given to them to protect them from evil spirits and the boy children are given silver neck chains and ear rings to deceive the evil spirits into believing that they are girls.

The birth of a child especially a male is a major festive occasion. The various kindred will assemble to congratulate the family and to bring gifts. Songs, of a traditional character mainly concerned for the safety of a boy child, are sung, sweet meats are distributed and the poor are fed. The news of a successful delivery sometimes is traditionally conveyed by a drummer who will signal when the birth is completed. As with the midwives such messengers form a recognised occup• ational or professional group in rural society and their existence is a measure of the esteem in which

156 the birth ceremonies are held. Their rewards depend to some extent on the economic position of the family but are always relatively large.

The birth of a son is regarded as partic• ularly auspicious. A son is the means of ensuring lineage survival in a patriarchal society, is a ritual necessity for the perform• ance of ritual ceremonies for his father and is of course an extra working unit.

A girl on the other hand tends to be regarded as an economic liability who has a need for dowry and is always a potentially weak point in the armour of family prestige and status. Following birth a sequence of other ceremonies are observed. On the sixth day after the birth the "Chhati" ceremony is held by both Muslims and Hindus and consists of ritual singing and the naming of a boy or girl by Muslims or the boy by Hindus.

Muslims will later hold the ceremony of "Aqiqa" when the child is six or eight month old. On this occasion the local barber v/ill make the first ritual cutting and shaving of the child's hair. Two goats are sacrificed for a boy, one for a girl and the meat is distributed among kindred, friends and the poor. Significantly, food is eaten by participants in the female apartments and not in Otak. The v/^omenfolk of the fsimily and neighbourhood will sing and sometimes the boys hair may be sacrificed on the grave of a Pir (saint) venerated by the family.

157 Hindus have an analogous shaving rite when the child is about 13 months, this is called "Munan"; and to some extent similar ceremonies are observed.

Variations in the above mentioned customs can be noted. In Muslim families the women usually give birth to the first child in her parents home but among Hindus birth normally takes place at the husband's home. Among the loitf class/caste families who have a bride purchase system the girl is regarded, an economic asset and as such her birth will be joyously celebrated. There are other differences particularly as between ^iuslims and in Hindus in the naming ceremonies.

Among Muslims before the announcement of the name (preferably derived from the Quran) by the family elder or by the Mulla, a "bang", the call to the prayer, must first be sounded in the ear of the child so that the first sound it hears shall be the sound of God.

In Hindus the name is conferred by Brahmin who will invoke the Ganesh the Hindu God symbolizing good fortune.

Thereafter great concern is given to the religious as well as to the social customary element in a sequence of birth ceremonies in which religious instructions begin at a very early age.

158 CHAPTJDR VII C

Death

In spite of the religious differences between Hindus and Muslims of Sind there is a considerable affinity between their customs associated with death. Both groups stress the religious elements and their dea-th'- ceremonies are performed by their religious guides. Among Muslims the presence of the Mulla is essential andiri Hindus the Brahmin is very important.

. " - M • •

Death is every where regarded as of very great consequence. If it occurs during festivals then the family will not take part in ceremonies to the extent that they will not wear festive clothes or prepare food but have it sent from neighbours and remote relatives.

If death occurs in an unusual manner it is ascribed to supernatural elements such as spirits and ghosts. If death has prevented carrying out of some desire then it is presumed that the deceased may return to this earth as ghost. The death of a young man, particularly if married^is regarded as a sign of bad luck for the whole family. The actual dying is treated ritually in order to help the spirit of the dying person. Among Muslims during "Sakarat" (agonies of death) members of the family and the dying person will read "Kalma Shahdat" (a confession of Muslim faith) loudly. Honey and water is dropped in the mouth of the dying man and then the lips and eyes are closed.

159 In the case of Hindus, a dying man is laid on the earth floor and either drops of Ganges water or the sprinkled water of the Tulsi plant or Sherbet (syrup) is put in his mouth.

In all cases the ritual bathing of the corpse is essential before burial and cremation ceremonies. Weeping and crying for the dead is regarded as a duty more or less universally. The outward express• ion of grief and respect by wailing and wearing of soiled clothes and the beating of the breast and thighs by women, must be obviously observed.

Charitable gifts and the feeding of the poor together with a feast for the religious leaders, [f , members of the family and friends over a long period of ritual ceremonies all impose a considerable financial strain on the family concerned. In order to alleviate this strain friends and near kindred will contribute financially in a custom of "Uzur Khuwani". This is one of the many occasions in which the strength of the kinship structure in the form of bradri shows its social and cohesive value. When a deceased has no close kin then other members of the family and bradri take the responsibility.

T\yro particular rites observed in Sind are worth noting for their significance jto elements of social structure already noted. First there is the symbolism associated with the nose ring traditionally worn by Sindii. women. This nose ornament is generally regarded as symbolizing the life and authority of the husband; even during life it is held in special regard

160 and xifomen will only remove the nose ring in strict seclusion and for a short time. When the woman dies it is not taken off, but when the husband dies the nose ring is removed and bangles are broken and the women's hair dishevelled. This is not merely an act of mourning but a recognition that the widow is diminished by the death of her husband. Secondly there is the devolution of the family head• ship to the eldest son on the death of the father. He performs all the major ceremonial rites, is chief corpse bearer and among Muslims puts the body in the graveyard and among Hindus lights the cremation fire. JThe members of the family and bradri transfer to his son the "Pagri" (turban) of family headship. This transference may also take place if the father is incapacitated from exerting his authority. The recognition of the authority of the new family head is of vital significance in a society where family kinship and lineage form the matrix of the community and this means that the bradri as a whole must be satisfied with the character, lineage and status of the new head. This may sometimes mean that the eldest son may be set aside in favour of someone more worthy.

Following the burial and cremation other duties and ceremonials are prescribed. Among Muslims a widow may not leave the house for four months and ten days and among Hindus for at least 12 months. On the third day after burial Sindi' Muslims have a "soyem" ceremony peculiar to themselves. The bradri members and friends read Quran aloud and those v/ho are not in a position to I'ecite read "Kalma" (confession of Muslim faith) while using

161 pieces of ritually clean brick as "beads". The pieces are very often ornamented and are kept in the mosque. The symbolism of these pieces of brick is the same as that in Christian burial ... on the coffin in the phrase "earth to earth and dust to dust". This is followed by funeral feasts which may be repeated on the 10th and 40th day (Chehlum). Among Hindus the third day after the cremation is a time for mourning. The Brahmin are given food on the 12th day and ceremonies are repeated in . six months or a year.

Most of the rites mentioned above are common in Sind but there are also minor variations as between Hindu communities and in between Muslim gro'.ips. The differences between Muslims and Hindus are illustrated by e.g. the sprinjcling of cow urine on the funeral pyre which is symbolically important in Hindus but prohibited in Muslims. The method of bathing the dead i-rr'lfo th'-'t-tio...groups is also different.

The Tahkur families in the desert areas among Sind'i' Hindus will construct an effigy of the dead man at the place of cremation. Such effigies are called "Loharati".

Similarly among Muslims variations of minor kind can be observed in the ceremonies of "Fateha" and other type of ritual observance.

For example the Rajors, Mari, Bhutto, Memon use. different symbolic food stuffs for distribution to the poor and also vary in the period of Fateha ceremonies.

162 The points considered above supply further evidence of the nature of Sindi society. First we see how both common traits as well as the identities and individualities of the communities and ethnic groups and religious faith co-exist in traditional Sind. Secondly we see hov/ important appears the destructive effect of death to families and communities and, further, how the need for the rapid re-establishing of new structures is seen. In a Sindi family the concept v;hich we find in the English phrase "The King is dead, long live the King" is a very real element in the struggle for survival. Thirdly, the ceremonies of death and burial are as important as marriage and birth ceremonies for the public recognition of the strength of the family structure.

Beyond this we can also see how the needs and values of Sindi society are mirrored in death and burial rites ranging from relative status, status of men and women to the varying responsibilities of the kinship groups of family and bradri.

163 CHAPTifiR VII D

Disease

Some short notes on disease and attitudes to it are relevant to this study. In the dominant rural areas diseases vary somev/hat region to region depend• ing upon the environments but most derive from the lack of hygiene. Intestinal and kidney diseases are prevalent as a result of shortage of water part• icularly of clean water, there are insect transmitted diseases such as malaria and,which are often endemic, the sicknesses v/hich result from inadequate diet and shelter. Lastly diseas.es such as small pox which, in the absence of adequate facilities, give rise to epidemics. The development of medical services is proceeding rapidly but in the traditional Sind there still survive the local treatments and, above all, magical mystical remedies. The strength of mysticism in Sind was noted earlier and the wearing of charms and amulets and the use of xx^ater from some wells and streamswhich are regarded as having magical properties is common in rural areas. It was estimated in^l96i* study of "Pakistan, its people, its society its culture" that three out of four Pakistanies live in areas where malaria is prevalent. The ratio of malaria patients is about ^O'p every year. As many as 150,000 die annually.

It is expected that Mullas and above all Bhopos (see Chapter VI B) will supply mystical protection. Wher; nevertheless disease strikes it is attributed to

164 the evil eye or supernatural factors. Two examples of the result of such attitudes are given belov;.

Small.pox is common and has a variety of tradit• ional names like "Lakhro" "Uriri" "Sitala" etc., and also a variety of treatments. During its period the women will sprinkle water on the trees believing this will cool down the goddess of small pox Sitala, and during attacks prayers are said to her. The giving of cardamom in milk sometimes is believed to be a cure. The patient is kept on a traditional rope bed, the ropes and frame of which must be tightened. Women will sing songs to Sitala and unburnt mudbricks are symbolically sacrificed over the patient and then thrown into a ruined well. If fever is continuous the dust of three corners of the street is collected and kept under the patient at night. On the seventh day the patient is made to sit on a donkey and various ritual ceremonies are carried out. The treatments of pneumonia has less magic but is equally traditional. The body of the patient is covered with a sheep skin in hot weather and a goat or deer skin in cold vireather, and for reducing the chest pain the fire ash is rubbed on the place of pain. One head of the family explained to the writer that "in this way we bring the circulation of the blood to a proper state so that the pain is either lessened or stopped". This same informant believed 0 that this and other traditional cures are more effective than anything which a doctor can do. Bites and stings by snakes and scorpions are common and various traditional ways of removing poison or neutralizing it are known. In Sindi' villages there is often a traditional physician who combines some traditional practical knowledge with

165 mystical poxver and both physical and magical practices

become mixed. A typical treatment is for the bite of the "Phookni" snake. In many areas there is a belief that this snake will appear if its name is mentioned and this becomes taboo. As protection some families \fxll keep lighted candles in the house, take tx^o or three pieces of onion and keep in their mouths leaves of various plants and grasses.

After a bite the patient must be kept axiray from the light, preferably in a pit and it is believed that if he faces the sun he xi^ill go blind xvithin four hours. A small piece of a branch of a tree is held to the typical throat gland sx^elling to disolve the poison. The lig'uid of some birds eggs is also used as a remedy. A cloth is tied over the patients head and he is made to sx^alloxj up to one pound of alum xtfhich is tasteless to,^he poisoned person but when the poison is removed|J)ecomes ^«gaifl£-bitter,-*€t«*eV

Here again one can observe hoxtf in the case of disease one finds an underlying strength of mystical beliefs, the use of local materials as remedies and the overlying regional and family diversities. The greatest difference is of course between the treatment of and attitudes to disease in the toxvns as opposed to countryside. Here again therefore one finds a society partly in transition and partly become divided. ^

166

4Sm riate 11

5^ Plate 12 CHAPTiiK VII E

Dress

One of the striking characteristics of the regional individuality of Sindi' life appears in dress as with language, customs and ^some^jas^pegts^of^^s^ e .^^^conomic organisation. This appears in traditional general design, details such as stitching and various combination^of colours. There are of course variations associated with wealth and poverty, religion and region• alism but first xire xirill consider the general aspects.

The use of vividly coloured clothes is striking. One particular male costume which is worn in variety of ways, sometimes over a shoulder or shoulders and sometime cover up the upper part of the body completely is called A.jrak xvhich means flaming banners. This is also very much a characteristic of Sind'i' female dress.

The female Salxjar (typical trouser narrox^ at the ankle) are also coloured and striped and the chemises and bodices intricately worked xvith small mirrors. These bright colours are traditionally obtained from local material such as turmeric, indigo, cochineal and madder.

Various lacquers and finishes are used for bright• ening and give, sheen to the cloth.

Apart from "A.jrak" the Sindii" male wears a turban xtfhich under various names such as Patko or Pagri is not only a head covering but symbolises male status in some . forms e.g. the status of family headship or head of Panchayat. Shirts may be long or short xtfith some

167 special stitching. The "Salxvar" is also a male trouser different in style from the female garment.

Frequently there is also a Sadri a type of xiraist coat differentiated by stitching as between from male and female. Femalef also x^ear^ apart |^trouser of Salwar type,the ChooriWar py^ama (a tight fitting trouser of cotton cloth similar to riding breaches in style).

The Para a long undivided skirt is also worn instead of trousers. *^ Sar.i is a long cloth xvourid in a skirt shape and extending over the upper part of the body. With these women will wear various type of blouses.

The "Gaj" is a loxir cut embroidered blouse and the Ga.l-Ga lavishly embroidered at the sleeves and the neck is another typical blouse type. The Raxira and Chunni are unsewn garments for wrapping around the body the latter being typically red and yelloxir. Women have no normal head covering except for the sx^athing of the Chunni or Rawa. "Dhoti", a simple robe wrapped around the body and between the legs is also found and xirorn by men.

The working clothes found in the countryside are of course much simpler. A small tenant farmer or labourer x^ill just x^rap a piece of cloth around his loins sometimes adding a small shirt, a Sadri and a simple head covering of cloth, an Anghocha. The womenfolk x>rear a "chola" a typically cut shirt type and Salwar. The differences appear particularly in winter. Both sexes x^rill add extra protection

168 of blanket;^ coverings usually with a distinctive diamond pattern in the v/eave while the poor have little except their working clothes. Differences, betv/een Hindus and Muslims appear in dress with the "dhoti" and the Gandi cap particularly associated %vith Hindus and the "Chooridar pvd:ama" character• istic of Muslim females.

However, the average rural women's dress according to the Census of I96I Nawabshah district is a cut shirt slightly above knee length termed a "Chola" and a coloured trouser fastened v;ith multi colour cord and a coloured "Dopatta" (a type of garment ^covers the head as well as the breast of the females).

Apart from these, other differences, generally in minor details of adjustment of dress, are found as differences between communities on a small scale rather than major distinctions. Footwear varies v/ith wealth and also with subregion again with minor diff• erences in design. Some regional and community differences are illustrated as follows.

The Memons on special occasions will wear a special type of waist coat called the "Sundri" which is not worn by any other group. The Rajor turban is made of ten yards of cloth as distinct from Bhuttos who use five yards. The Rajors arrange the turban differently from Bhuttos who keep it high on their head. Various type of such identifications are also noticeable in Hindus.

It is at festivities and other important social occasion that the various groups, religious, ethnic, rich and poor particularly display their identity.

169 0>n these occasions full traditional dress will be xvorn and the ornaments which are an essential part of female traditional dress will be displayed. These ornaments are of certain general types, which in the detail of construction and in the combinations for wearing supply evidence* for the identification both of Sindis- as a whole and of particular comm• unities. The ^Jath" (nose ring) has already been noted (see Chapter VII C). There are as well the bangles of silver and gold, the "Wallis" a special type of ear ring and "Jhumar" a pendant decoration for the forehead.

The "Hasi" is a decorative neck ring and the "Mundi" the rings for the toes complete a normal set of ornaments.

We have seen that city life is tending to reduce the strength of traditional communities and to strengthen individualism and cosmopolitanism. So it is also xvith dress. Men particularly of the younger modern urban generation adopt xvestern garb, typically the xvestern tight trousers rather than the traditional Salwar, xvestern shirts and shoes.

In the cities the modern women adopt the Sari as a standard dress although some regional forms of the skirt such as Garara, a long flov7ing divided skirt type typical of Dadu is also sometimes adopted. There is also a modified tighter ^Salwar. Ornaments tend to be restricted to small ear rings and if betrothed a finger ring.

170 fiHAPTEU VII F

Food

Since the rural element is still the largest in the population of Sind and since as we noted earlier the social economy of Sindx;". agriculture has a very strong subsistence orientation, then the fundamental characteristics of diet is the heavy reliance on local products and Karachi is the only area which greatly consumes imported goods.

The main elements in diet are the cereals, v/heat, barjira (millet), jowar (andropoggon sorghum), and rice, a very great variety of vegetables and pulses, meat and the main beverages tea, milk and "Lass-i". In the case of meat there are various complicated situations since some Hindu groups are vegetarian and do not take meat at all, although some will eat mutton and since Islam regards the pig as unclean, then pork is no vjhere openly served, although it is consumed to a small extent by nonmuslim groups e.g. Christians.

Grain is the staple food eaten mainly in the form of unleavened bread cakes, "Chapaties".

In the cities, tov/ns and large villages of the Tandoo type (see Chapter V) grain is ground in comm• ercial mills. In the cities the non-agricultural popu• lation x>rill normally purchase flour through retail outlets controlled by the rationing system. In the smaller towns and Tandoos on the other hand farmers vrill bring their own grain to be prepared in small mills. Where the settlement is of small village type or is dispersed, the.v/omen of the household prepare their own flour with rotary hand querns. Bread

171 making varies similarly in town and country.

Meat is cooked in a variety of ways. A very large number of spices such as chillies, black pepper and onions are used heavily. Vegetable dishes are of great variety, using in particular tomatoes, turnip, bringal, cauliflowers and lady fingers. Rice is cooked alone and in various sweet and savoury dishes euid in some, parts of Jacobabad is also made into bread. Sea fish are commonly eaten in Karachi and river fish is consumed near the Indus.

The most general beverage is milk which is also used as an element in other foodstuffs; it is the traditional family drink. Tea is consumed not only at home but also for entertaining guests and in the tea houses. "Lassi", emulsified yogurt, is another traditional drinlc, as also is "Kuskus", a preparation made w^ith almond juice. Intoxicant drinks are not very common. In hot v/eather a typical drink "Tadhal" v/ith sugar and cumdin seed and*little Bhang (a type of intox• ication) is sometimes consumed.

The general dietary pattern is clearly similar to that found in other parts of southern and south-western Asia with the normal variants that go with differences in income. The heaviest consumption of meat and poultry is naturally found among the most well-off people v/hile the poor will normally consume a few thiclc chapatis with onion and a glass of milk or "gur" (raw sugar). Certain seasonal variations are to be foiuid, in winter there is more consumption of hot food and fish and eggs, while in summer the consumption of eggs and fish decline and more vegetables and refreshing drink are taken. At most times there is a deficiency of

172 animal proteins and the calorific value of the average diet is also barely sufficient.

The main regional differences are as follows. In the eastern desfert areas difficulties of cultivation produce a great dependence on the hardiest millets such as bajira and then is also associated with the prevalent pastoralism a high consumption of milk and butter. The dried seeds of melon and grass seeds are used as a food reserve in those v areas of Tharparkar most remote from the rest of Sind. In the barrage area specially in Hala wheat Chapatis make up the normal day time food v/hile in the evening rice and milk is consumed. In some parts of Dadu rice is the staple food; sweet meats which are universally eaten have various regional forms such as Karachi Halwa, Gajar Halwa.

In the countryside the general practice is to take two meals, one in the morning and one in the evening vifhile in the town the conventional western elements of breakfast, lunch and supper have developed in association v;ith regular v/orking hours in offices, factories, etc. There are also associations of particular food stuffs with the many festivals and ceremonies of a socio- religious kind.

V/ater supply varies immensely in quantity and quality from the Kacho areas where people rely on small dams and tanlcs to store v/ater from ephemeral torrents, through the villages of the plains and canals, to the engineered supply of the cities such as Hyderabad, i'vawabshah and Karachi.

173 In conclusion one shouJdnote the use of stim• ulants and drugs. Cigarettes and rolled tobacco leaf "biris" are very heavily used.

Traditionally the use of opium and opium der• ivatives is common and normal in the desert areas. Opium is associated with ritual ceremonies, again mainly in the desert areas, but is also used as an element of a diet, believed to have some medical properties for easing mental and physical strength. Very rarely is it taken to produce ecstatic or hall• ucinatory feelings. Intoxicatioa&ry beverages of western kind are mainly consumed by some urban families and also in some rich laindowning families.

In general then we can say there are no out• standing regional characteristics in the Sindi.' diet but the strength of Islam and the presence of Hindus produces a slight dichotomy, the strength of mysticism and rituals tend to give special values to some elements of consumption, and, lastly, the growth of urbanization is producing a more cosmopolitan diet to the towns.

17^

'late 15 CJrlAPTER. VII G

Recreation

In recreation and entertainments one can distin• guish between physical games and cultural entertainment^. As in many parts of the v/orld there are eluiiiuilLti" such as wrestling, sporting fights, horse racing and shooting. These contests of strength and skill have a particular traditional regional form. The Malakharo for instance « is a special form of wrestling similar to Roman wrest• ling. Each contestant will tuck up his Salwar baggy trousers) in at the waist and a twisted cloth is fast• ened like a belt around the waist. Each tries to bring his opponent down by gripping the belt. Many different named tactics and throws are known to every one.

Much more closely associated with Sindi.'. culture and even responsible in parts for its survival are the entertainments of music,^nstrumental and singing) and of dancing.

The traditional instruments are typical in form. The Murli is a type of flute (which is essentially an instrument of the snake charmer), "Chung" a jaw harp, and "Narr" (a musical instrument peculiar to caravans) When a caravan stays over night in the desert, the camel drivers play this instrument.

The "Sitar". is common to the whole of India and Pakistan, is found in a special form in Sind. These and other related instruments are used to accompany traditionally and universally known songs and tunes.

The songs have their own special varieties. The "Madad" are songs of praise used on an occasion when an individual is commemorated or praised. "Marsiah" is the type of song used to commemorate death while "Malud" and "Muna.jat" are typically religious in character.

"Doherha" is a reflective song linked with the themes of love and prayers and ssa songs of home spun philosophy. The "Wai" has-the same vocabulary and is lyrical. The instrument normally used with it is the Ek-tara (a typical stringed instrument for playing one note).

Sindi . songs are very closely associated v/ith the human themes of love and separation and with the real• ities of country life (see Appendix 13)• Many of these are really established in the folklore and passed on in oral traditions.

In the cases of dances there is more regional variety and while many of the dances such as the stick dance "Gabra" are danced by men there are also in Sind women's dances which are very popular such as "Jhooner".

At the moment there is a great wealth of trad• itional entertainment of the active participation kind.

In a society of rural villages and hamlets in which endogamy and kinship have always strengthened the group identities xvhich are also encouraged by subsistence orientated economies then each commun• ity developed active recreational expressions of its own culture within the totality of Sindii. culture.

176 From observation and interviev/ the writer has come across the craft songs concerned with details of part• icular ways of living as v/ell as more literary and historical subjects. Tharparkar alone has some 30 typical regional songs. Their significance cannot be exaggerated since they represent a vivid picture of traditional values and history and a reflection of physical environment. In them are unified all the mysticism, struggles for survival and the coherent identity of the people.

Now radio and cinema make recreation more passive and many older people report a dying, a loss of the traditional cultural entertainments.

Here again it is too early to tell whether there "^will be a nett loss or v/hether, as some of the newer ' folksongs suggest, there is being formed a new culture with ne\^ manifestations.

177 CHAPTER VII G

Appendix 13

Samples of some typical songs of Sind. Belanrh - This song is associated with north-western Kohistan. When the nights are starry shepherds sing it. Its typical rustic characteristic is quite obvious.

"The jackals are howling across the dark stream; My love is a peacock, in beauty supreme The forest of myrtles spreads up to the brink; The love of my girl is like heavenly drink The smoke of the pain and flame of the passion. We bear, and shall get what we want, in some fashion".

A children's song which explains some realities of the village life.

"Come south wind, blow; Make the mosquitoes to go. The wind comes singing merrily. She ties her horse to the berry tree. A fine storm is on. The horrid mosquitoes are gone".

Source - Pakistan Quarterly Vol./X, No. 1, Karachi 1959-

178 4' < 5 < CHAPTER VII H

Communications

In Chapter I we noted that the regime of flow of the Indus is not encouraging for the growth of river transport but there has been for centuries a certain amount of use made of the river by small craft. During the British period this developed into a steamer service as the demand for freight traffic increased. Larkana, Nawabshah, Sukkur, Rorhi and Kotri are connected by river steamers as viell as by small indigenous craft, and there are steam ferry services at these points.

Nevertheless the Indus river is by no means an arterial line of conmiunication. The delta area is both difficult to penetrate and as in itself a negative area. To the north of Sind the Indus barrages and the diversion of water for irrigation have all lessened the value of the river for transport.

Away from the river land transport has only partially changed from the animal transport which has been dominant for millenia.

The first significant change came with the building of the railway. By I878 a small network had been built to serve the Indus plain toxms. This was connected v/ith Punjab and by 1930 the system that nov/ exists was virtually complete (see Map ll). The main arterial line runs from Karachi via Khairpur and Hyderabad to Peshawar. Secondly there is the main line from Karachi through Kotri, Dadu, and Jacobabad, over the Bolan pass to Quetta. From the first of these in particular feeder branch lines serve Central iiind. There are in addition various metergauge lines.

179 Plate 17 In Sind as in the whole of imperial India these rail roads were of military and administrative use and while they v/ere an expression of growing need for freight services they also brought into being new productive resources. From the social point of viexir hov/ever while they are very heavily used for passenger traffic the increased human mobility has had little effect in breaking down the ethnic and social distinctiveness of various human groups.

The development of road transport has also had only a minor direct effect on society. It is nov/ true that there is no absolute isolation of any village and mobility has been increased. It is in the field of new economic opportunities v/hich theoretically at least are now available to Sindi'- villagers that the poss• ibility of change is greatest. Apart however from the possibility that individuals now find it easier, physically to migrate to urban centres, all depends on xirhether the village dominated structure of Sind is able to respond to the new theoretical opportunities.

In Chapter V we noted that excluding Karachi there are Sindi.' settletraits with populations over 5,000 and more than 5»000 smaller rural settlements. These rural villages are still associated with sub• sistence orientated agriculture. In such a society, as was discussed in Chapter VI D everything tends to encourage dependence on family, lineage, and ethnic solidarities. This accent on group solidarity prod• uces a need for family and community responsibility and authority. In such a peasant society there can be only limited freedom.for the individual. Therefore the impact of improved transport and coi'tmunications can only directly affect the peripheral characteristics

180 by for instance encouraging slight changes in material consumption. Larger scale effects can only follow if the low income peasant society becomes considerably changed and this movement away from subsistence is for the bulk of the population clearly impossible at the moment.

The need for improved land transport even although the subsistence element is strong is hov/ever still considerable. In order to transport food stuffs and raw materials as well as for increasing the availability of education and health facilities road building programmes are being implemented.

For example in the Guddu barrage region there was formulated a scheme to link the Talukas (see Chapter III) with regional towns. This has also involved the completion of 57 miles of all -weather roads (Pacca) and 30' miles of village roads, the total scheme costing ) 22 lakh rupees. Similarly in Dadu district 27 thousand f ' " rupees are being spent on secondary net-works. There remains however in Sind a problem of balance concerning the adequacy of comrmmication. In the village areas the demand generated by individual farmers is small and even the group demand by villages is relatively lovi -tftiiia^ because of the strength of the subsistence element. Increasing intensity of production and the increase in commercially available agricultural products are essential to Pakistan development plans, but they can not develop while inadequacies of communications exist. In general animal transport is still dominant and camels, horses and bullock carts are the most common vehicles. In some sub-regions this is likely to continue because of environmental characte.ristics.

181 late 18 In the Tharparkar desert areas draft and pack animals are an integral part of pastoral and semi- nomadic life and not only are roads difficult to construct in the sand desert areas but it must also be remembered that this is a frontier zone with India as well as being part of a large inhospitable area extending on both sides of the frontier. Given the present state of tension betA/een India and Pakistan, local environmental difficulties and local socio-economic adaptation then the building of improved communications is unlikely. There remain the camel trails of Islamkot, Chor and Nagar Parkar.

In the hill lands of ICohistan aridity and rough terrain reduce the carrying capacity of land and also make difficult and expensive road building. The main development of communications has therefore been associated with the need for through routes connecting Karachi and low-land Sind with the Quetta region. Local transport is sparse and suited to hill tracts between the very dispersed small centres of population. The Indus delta is for different reasons (see Chapter l) almost equally negative and difficult to traverse. Land routes are almost entirely short stretches of village track between the marshes and distributory channels. There remains the Indus lov/-land sub-region in v/hich as already noted are located the main areas of cultivation and centres of settlement.

Withinthis sub-region there are various forms of land transport and a variety of road and track types. Given the natuie of agriculture which as already noted is mainly subsistence orientated,

182 communications must be suitable for the movement of many relatively small loads of.agriculturttl'products and consumer goods as well as for the dense local net works of movements of people. For this type of trans• port of goods then as in other peasant area one finds an emphasis on low cost, small unit transport, a demand which is best met by using v.'orking animals also as draft and pack animals.

The nature of social and economic organisation of rural Sind clearly influences the movement of people. The close links between families and classificatory relatives and the importance of periodic ceremonial occasions for family gatherings such as weddings, funerals, religious festivities etc., all produce a very large volume of movements of people not only over short inter-village distances but also over a very long range. All observers have noted with surprise that in many parts of Asia traditional society is associated with on the one hand very strong attachments to home territory and on the other hand a very strong propensity to long distance travels. The inter-meshing of routes of all descriptions is therefore very considerable and virtually the whole population is concerned.

It is therefore becomes very difficult to distin• guish between social, economic and cultural reasons for physical corniiiunication.

A landlord whether living in a town or in the country-side will visit his lands and the tenant , villager will have to periodically, sometimes frequently, have to call on the landlord. Not only are such contacts

183 economically necessary but the landlord, better informed and often possessing Sindl" nev/spapers and magazines, becomes a centre for obtaining information and for obtaining discussion. Verbal discussion is of course essential when there is a low level of literacy and if other means of comnunication are lacking rural families will keep close links with aiid pay frequent visits to urban relatives, this again mainly by physical visits and this is another essential part of the spread of information and opinion. Therefore meetings of Panchayat, meetings of relatives, meetings with land• lords and visits to markets and fairs produce physical movements and verbal inter-communication. The cheinges which are nov/ observable are of course great. The radio has become a mass medium of communication part-= icularly with the development of battery powered tran• sistor radio sets.

Hyderabad city is the main transmitting station sending out pugrammes in Sindi-i, Urdu English. Sindi' programmes are in part a reflection of a ling• uistic need but also are a force for helping the survival of regional culture. Karachi by contrast serves more cosmopolitan and national demands and this reflects and reinforces its essentially non SindV character.

The growth in importance of the Press as expressed through newspapers has been a long and continuous process starting in the nineteenth century.

With the appearance of the independent state of Pakistan there has been the development of a national

184 as well as a regional press,. In Sind the strength of regional individuality is shown by the number of newspapers and periodicals which are printed in the Sindli" language. Actual numbers of daily and weekly periodicals and newspapers cannot be accurately stated for reasons (given below. According to the Census I961 some figures are given for Sinda'. period• icals and newspapers.

Khairpur 1 Jacobabad J Hyderabad iS

The total figures of all language papers on a division basis show ^5 newspapers and periodicals in Hyderabad division and 38 in Khairpur division.

The life of some of these papers is short and names and ownership can change rapidly. There is a continually changing flood coming out of the printing presses. The newspapers "Insan", "Musalman" and "Islam" appear more permanent feature of the Sindi_ language press, while the Sindhi Aimes, although i published in English, represents the region and culture. While the greatest impact is necessarily in the urban communities there is surprisingly great demand also in some rural villages. The mechanics of distribution is very complicated but from the railway station papers are collected and distributed like any other consumer commodity finally finding their way to all but the most remote places. Possibly the most important aspect of the growth of radio and press communication has been on verbal discussion.. In traditional Sind this includes all but the most specialized professional groups. Verbal discussion

185 and arguments are still very popular and now such discussion has more information to feed it.

In general transport and communications have had opposite influences on Sindi society. On one hand local isolation has been lessened and therefore the strength of regional individuality weakened. On the other hand literacy together with the radio have made it possible for the regional Sindi culture to be consciously stressed and emphasised. Whether the final balance will swing towards cosmopolitism or a new type of regional identity we do not yet know.

186 Conclusion

Any region is a compound of its physical and social features and the impact of social change and technological development is also relevant. In Sind the relationship betv/een the people and their ecological surroundings is very intimate and to a great extent these factors have produced the characteristic aspects of Sindi" life. As stated in the Introduction the emphasis in this thesis has been on the social char• acteristics of a people who still maintain^ over the major part of Sind.a continuity of traditional life. This life is rooted in subsistence orientated agric• ulture which has kept the great bulk of the population in a close and direct relationship with the land in vjhich they live and has stressed the importance of dependence on direct local experience. Sind has many diversities, Sind is rich, Sind is poor, Sind is modern, Sind is traditional.

The people of the desert and the inhabitants of the hill tracts have had to adopt their ways of life to match physical environments which remain largely unmodified by man except for ecological deterioration. In these areas population is sparse ^and ^^de^endence on poor rainfall and soils ^si^A!^sp'¥T^T^=^=k^^££:^\3il.t^ dissected terrain i^-^-jreispoagabie for thepoverty of the people. In contrast, the relative prosperity of the alluvial lov/lands results from the partial adaptation of elements in the physical environment, above all by irrigation, so that a more productive relationship between society and the land could be developed, and this process has affected the social organisation of the communities concerned.

187 Predominantly the agricultural population of Sind has in all regions evolved over many years a tightly Icnit social co;Tiplex in which are integrated, for example, methods of cultivation, religion, recreation, family and kinship structures etc. Equally, the form and location of dwellings and settlements represent a product of social and economic forces within this particular physical environment in its sub-types and ce^^tonal changes. The inadequacy of communications which is to a certain extent due to the physical difficulties of Sind hampers economic emd social development of the region and its people. It also makes the region and the communities rather distinct relatively to other areas, if only in their relative isolation and because of the human effects of this relative isolation.

Economic stratification is a notable element of Sindi ". society which gives rise to a certain amount of diversity in the social structure. As a result of this communities differ in detail in their familial organisation, dresses, foods, recreations, etc.

On the v/hole Sind has its ov/n way of life which is the same in most of its features and it has its own typical distinctiveness. The family is the fundamental factor in the social and economic aspects of Sind. . In that organisation the man^traditionally su.-reme emd women is J^fte secondary p&rt of the OisgaB'ia'aClon. The social matrix of the society is governed by a rural orgajiisation of justice.

In any brief summing up then many of the points made suggest that Sindi'. social life is similar in many ways to that of Pakistan as a whole, to Islamic society as a whole anrl even to other peasant societies.

188 In the thesis what has been stressed is that v^hile there

are those general structural —an„ d institutional similar- ities, the Sindi mnnifontrfr •i^fis of general sociaT" characteristics of Islamic and Pakistani peasant needs are distinct and clear. These may appear in details such as dress etc., but also more deeply in the whole complex of language, endogamy, rural predominance, etc., which make up the unit which we know as Sind, which has survived as a recognised unit for centuries

fppijjyi^ and =*rtrtreTr*shows every sign of continued surviv9.1

In Pakistan the regions not only differ in their cultural aspects but the difference in economic and physical aspect also exists. Sind region and Punjab region, Pathan region have irarious characteristics. The new element of urbanization is to be found both in Punjab and Sind but in the former it is much more advanced than in the latter. The Punjab is also much richer in geographical and economic potentialities, which has been further exploited by a greater range of cultural groups. Sind is distinct and has always been distinct, a distinctiveness in Sind which is not only in the old cultural values and tradition but also in the form of transitional stage through v/hich Sind is passing.

Industrialization, education and other technological developments and the nexir set up of the establishment of social life in urban areas are attracting traditional man away from tradition. The authority of the family is being eroded and the decentralised nature of the rural life is replaced by central authority based on large towns. There is every possible danger to the long surviving traditional unity of Sind. The old values gradually are losing their force and the new

189 trends are giving ^trefigth to urban uniformity.

In such changing situation the traditional Sind and traditional man of Sind may lose their old identity. Now the question still remains will the traditional B

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